AfD on democracy and the state

The AfD wants Berlin to push in the Bundesrat for abolishing Section 188 of the German Criminal Code. The provision imposes special penalties for insulting politicians. In the program's view, it now serves to prosecute critical statements.

There is a law that gives politicians special protection from insults. The AfD wants to end this law. Berlin should propose that in the Bundesrat. The AfD says the law is used against criticism. It says the normal rules on insults are enough.

The program calls the provision a minor form of lèse-majesté and considers special protection of politicians' honor questionable. It argues the original purpose has been missed and that the rule has become a business model for some entrepreneurs. This, it says, damages the reputation of the justice system and democracy. The general Sections 185 and 187 are said to be sufficient to protect personal honor.

The AfD wants to expand direct democracy in Berlin: citizens could overturn laws already passed through a Volkseinwand (popular veto), and every change to the state constitution would go to a public vote. This is meant to give Berliners the final say on fundamental decisions.

The AfD wants more public votes. Citizens should be able to stop new laws. To do so, they must collect signatures. Then everyone votes on the law. The people should also vote on every change to Berlin's constitution.

A popular veto would need, within 100 days of the parliamentary vote, half as many signatures as a petition needs to trigger a referendum. The turnout and approval thresholds for the vote that follows would also be half those of a regular referendum. If the threshold is missed, the law stands as passed. The budget law is exempt because budget authority belongs to parliament. Switzerland and other German states serve as models.

The AfD wants Berliners to elect the governing mayor and the district mayors directly instead of leaving this to the parliaments. The districts are also to gain more legal and financial independence.

Today the parliament elects Berlin's governing mayor. The AfD wants citizens to elect the mayor directly. The same should apply to the mayors of the districts. The districts should also get their own money. They should be able to go to court themselves.

Both direct elections would be held on the day of the state parliament election; without an absolute majority, a runoff between the top two follows two weeks later. If parliament is dissolved early or the election is rerun, the governing mayor is elected anew as well. The parliament could call a new mayoral election with a two-thirds majority, and the mayor's term is tied to the legislative period. Districts are to get their own revenue sources and a right to sue, since the platform says lump-sum allocations alone make them dependent.

The AfD wants to bar members of Berlin's state parliament from sitting in another parliament at the same time. In addition, no one should be both a lawmaker and a member of the government.

A lawmaker in Berlin should sit in only one parliament. They should not also sit in the Bundestag. They should not also sit in the European Parliament. Anyone in the government should not be a lawmaker.

Anyone elected to more than one parliament would have to choose one after the election. This covers combining a Berlin seat with a seat in the Bundestag or the European Parliament. Separating office from mandate means members of the Berlin government would not also sit in the state parliament.

The AfD wants the Berlin state parliament to set up a committee of inquiry into the COVID period. It also wants Berlin to launch an initiative in the Bundesrat for an amnesty covering all convictions connected to COVID measures.

The AfD wants to investigate the COVID period. A committee in the Berlin parliament should do this. Some people were punished for breaking COVID rules. The AfD wants these punishments canceled. This is called an amnesty.

The platform points to ongoing criminal cases against doctors who refused to follow state measures, as well as prison sentences and revoked medical licenses. It also says protesters were sentenced to fines or prison. In the AfD's view, the committee of inquiry should clear up unlawful conduct by authorities and have it punished where needed. The amnesty is to be pursued through an initiative in the Bundesrat, the chamber of the German states.

The AfD wants to stop giving public money to organizations it classifies as far-left. Reporting offices such as the Berliner Register or CLAIM would also lose state funding and have to rely on private financing alone.

Berlin gives money to clubs and organizations. The AfD sees some of them as far-left. They should get no more money from the state. This also applies to reporting offices. People can report things like discrimination there.

According to the platform, the groups concerned pursue an ideological agenda and disparage mainstream patriotism. In the future they would have to live on donations and membership fees only. The AfD accuses the reporting offices of combining unconfirmed reports and non-criminal statements into a one-sided picture. In the party's view, this intimidates people and restricts freedom of expression.