German state premier warns parties not to adopt far-right stance

The premier of the south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, has warned parties against adopting the policies of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is seeing its support grow in the polls.

"In the fight against the extreme, we must not become extreme ourselves. We must not counter their drivel with more drivel, but with reason and clear arguments," the Green politician told dpa in Stuttgart.

It is wrong to believe that there is a single recipe to fight right-wing populism and the AfD, said Kretschmann.

In the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg, where new state parliaments will be elected in September, polls show the AfD in the lead, in some cases by a considerable margin.

"I can only warn against saying 'Let them govern, then people will see what comes of it.' The damage they cause along the way would be too great," he said.

"We have to make it clear: Everywhere they have a say, things are getting worse, not better."

The rapid rise of right-wing populists is not a German phenomenon, but a "struggle all over the world," said Kretschmann. Democracy is under stress.

"What catches the AfD is their narrative that we can restore the good old days, which on closer inspection were not so good."

We have to come to terms with the fact that part of the population is going down this path, he warned.

"We have to make sure that we solve the problems, that there are no structural breaks. That's what we're working on. And we shouldn't stir up unnecessary controversies - such as over gender stereotyping."

The Poles recently proved that the rise of right-wing populism can be stopped, he said.

Kretschmann is convinced that the rise of right-wing populists is not only a major threat to democracy, but also to the country's economic prosperity. Germany also needs a considerable effort at regulating immigration, he said.

The justice minister in the national coalition government, Marco Buschmann, meanwhile expressed scepticism about any legal attempt to ban the AfD.

"The Federal Constitutional Court has set the hurdles for a party ban very high," the liberal politician told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"If such proceedings were to fail before the Constitutional Court, it would be a huge PR victory for the AfD," h said.

Founded in 2013, the AfD is listed as a suspected right-wing extremist organiszation by Germany's domestic intelligence service.

In Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, the local branches are regarded as confirmed right-wing extremist groups.

Politicians from Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Socia Democrats, and his coalition partner the Greens had recently argued that the option of a ban procedure should be kept open.