Lower Saxony wants to check AfD members in the public service more closely!

Lower Saxony wants to check AfD members in the public service more closely!

In Lower Saxony, there are new measures to protect the public service, which particularly affect members of the AfD. Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) announced that the state government does not want to tolerate anti-constitutional tendencies in the civil service. The aim is to make access to public services more difficult for people who act in an extremist manner against the basic democratic order. This reports NDR.

As part of the recruitment process, a questionnaire will be introduced that will make it possible to question membership and support for extremist organizations. Behrens explains unequivocally: “Opponents of the basic democratic order have no place in the civil service.” To support this, written instructions on constitutional loyalty for new civil servants are also being considered.

Uniform approach required

In view of the increased discussions about enemies of the constitution in the public service, a uniform approach to the AfD is called for. The interior ministers of the federal states have already set up a federal-state working group. A further step could be for Lower Saxony, similar to Rhineland-Palatinate, to make access to public services more difficult for AfD members. There, the AfD is monitored under the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, although the distinction between a test case and verified extremism does not exist.

But there is also criticism of the approach. The AfD itself describes the proposed measures as scandalous and sees itself as a victim of polarizing politics. In Lower Saxony, the state association of the AfD is currently classified as a suspect. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has temporarily suspended the classification as right-wing extremist until a court decision is made.

Reforms in disciplinary law

A crucial aspect of the planned measures is the reform of disciplinary law, which came into force on April 1st. This aims to make it easier to dismiss extremist officials. ZDF reports that with this reform authorities can now issue disciplinary orders against extremist officials, which are subsequently reviewed by the administrative courts. The aim is to consistently deal with extremist incidents that, although small in number, significantly damage trust in the public service.

In 2021, a total of 373 disciplinary measures were imposed in the federal administration, a figure that represents less than 0.2 percent of the approximately 190,000 civil servants. The proposed reform promises to streamline these procedures, which previously took an average of four years.

Pressure is growing, particularly on the state government, to make it clear that extremist ideas have no place in the civil service. The decision to consistently implement this when hiring new civil servants could represent a turning point in dealing with extremist tendencies in Germany.

The next steps are already being discussed. Lower Saxony plans to take further measures and is calling for a nationwide uniform approach to combating extremist influences in the public service, which can also be seen in the proposal for a new questionnaire on the recruitment process NWZonline shows.