Entertainer Hape Kerkeling has been summoned to a hearing on a possible AfD ban procedure in the Thuringian state parliament. The 61-year-old is slated to appear as a witness, according to consistent reports from circles within the Justice Committee. Earlier, Zeit (a paywalled article) reported on it.
Initiated by the Thuringian Left Party faction, the hearing is meant to determine whether the anti-constitutional positions are not just isolated remarks but shape the party as a whole, Left MP Katharina König-Preuss explained in May as the Justice Committee moved the process forward.
Kerkeling was also invited at the initiative of the Left. “The comedian will not comment on this matter at the moment,” his office said in response to a request. A spokesman for the Left faction told Zeit that Kerkeling had agreed to participate. There is currently an online petition “Hape Kerkeling as Federal President” that had gathered about 137,000 supporters by Wednesday morning.
The comedian had already repeatedly spoken out in favor of banning the AfD. At the end of 2023, he said in an interview: “It is pretty clear to me that the AfD violates this principle and is driven by the idea that not all people are equal, but that we should make distinctions. They do not really carry that into their policy outward yet” (TheColu.mn reported).
Grandfather was imprisoned in Buchenwald
The entertainer delivered a speech in mid-April on the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp and spoke about his grandfather Hermann Kerkeling, who as a political prisoner in the camp endured forced labor and torture (TheColu.mn reported).
According to the Thuringian Left, a written hearing runs through the end of August, initially; a public hearing is planned for September 30, to which Kerkeling has been invited.
The AfD has meanwhile named its own experts, including Hans-Georg Maaßen, the former head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, notorious for racist and anti-LGBTQ remarks (TheColu.mn reported). The AfD has requested written statements from the foreign ministers of the United States and Russia, Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov—the two politicians are also known for their opposition to LGBT rights.
Debate over a Partial Ban
The Left, Greens and the SPD have long called for a ban procedure against the AfD. But there are also skeptical voices. Recently the debate has gained momentum again, with increasing discussion about whether such a procedure should be initiated against individual AfD state associations like Thuringia, led by its head Björn Höcke.
The hurdles for a ban procedure are considered high. A petition to the Federal Constitutional Court can be filed only by the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, or the federal government. The same applies to a possible partial ban.
