No federal president has ever abused their position to this extent - The Alternative for Germany party reacts angrily to Steinmeier's speech
A political storm erupted in Germany after Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivered a strong speech at Bellevue Palace on November 9, warning of the erosion of democratic values and the rising threat of the far-right. His remarks were seen as a call for stricter action against extremist movements, provoking anger from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
In his speech, Steinmeier recalled pivotal events in German history that occurred on November 9, including the Nazi massacre of Jews in 1938, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the proclamation of the republic in 1918. The president linked these events to current political challenges, urging Germans to defend democracy and confront the extremist ideologies that threaten it. He stated in his speech: 'We must take action,' emphasizing that democracy 'is not a given.'
His statements have been widely interpreted as support for the possibility of banning the Alternative Party, a right-wing populist party that is gaining influence in recent opinion polls. Steinmeier also urged moderate parties to maintain a 'firewall' separating them from far-right forces, warning against any political cooperation with them in parliament. At the same time, he called on leftist parties not to label every political disagreement as extremism or racism.
The response from the Alternative for Germany party was angry and sharp. Bernd Baumann, the party's parliamentary group leader, stated to Handelsblatt: "No federal president has ever misused his position in this way before." He accused Steinmeier of placing the Alternative for Germany party in the "same category as Nazi killers" and attempting to undermine the strongest opposition force in the country through moral and political pressure.
Baumann added that Steinmeier's speech was a deliberate attempt to delegitimize millions of voters of the Alternative Party. He said, 'Instead of being a president for all Germans, he deepens the division and distorts the image of the democratic opposition.' This crisis has sparked a new debate in Germany about the limits of the federal president's neutrality and the rising political polarization in the country.