German state blocks AfD members from civil service roles

Members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won't be able to enter public service positions in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate going forward, the state’s interior minister, Michael Ebling (SPD), announced on Thursday in Mainz.

The western German state is changing the rules around recruitment for civil servants. 

Specifically, applicants for government positions will be required to declare that they do not belong to an extremist organisation (and have not in the past five years).

The move effectively bans AfD members from becoming civil servants, because the far-right party is under observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the state of in Rhineland-Palatine.

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The rule change may impact existing employees in the public sector as well. Going forward, membership of an extremist organisation could constitute a disciplinary offence. 

Disciplinary actions would vary depending on individual cases, but employees with proven violations of their duty of loyalty to the constitution could expect to be removed from service.

"Loyalty to the constitution is not a wish or a recommendation…it is the immovable duty of every civil servant in our country," said interior minister Ebling. "Anyone who puts himself at the service of this state must be loyal to the constitution at all times, without ifs and buts."

According to the state’s interior ministry office, even stricter requirements apply to police officers. 

AfD politician rejects the move

The AfD is not happy about the move, and has reacted with criticism of the interior minister.

AfD member of parliament and deputy state chairman Sebastian Münzenmaier slammed the move as a “declaration of political bankruptcy”.

In defence of the rule change, state interior minister Ebling said that “a suspected case [of extremism] means that there are sufficiently verifiable indications of anti-constitutional tendencies”.

The AfD party has been designated as a confirmed extremist organisation in several German states. 

In May, the party was labeled as a right-wing extremist group at the national level by Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV). However, the party immediately challenged the label in court, causing the BfV to suspend the classification until the legal appeal is resolved.

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With reporting by DPA.