Krah demands dissociation from Sellner's remigration concept

The Saxon AfD member of parliament Maximilian Krah is calling on his party to distance itself from the Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner and his "remigration concept". The judges at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig described Sellner's concept as "contrary to human dignity" and "incompatible with the human rights core of the principle of democracy".

"This concept envisages expatriation as a means of creating an ethnic German nation, even against the backdrop of future elections and referendums," reads the recently published reasons for the ruling to lift the ban on the far-right magazine "Compact". The concept provides for a legally devalued status for Germans with a migration background.

The term "remigration" has long been the subject of debate. When right-wing extremists use the term remigration, they usually mean that a large number of people of foreign origin should leave the country - even under duress.

Krah: "Condemned to clarity"

"The AfD is condemned to clarity by the ruling," Krah told Die Welt. "Anyone who uses the term remigration must make it clear that citizens are not meant." If the party does not provide clarity quickly, it will be very difficult to get rid of the party's classification as "definitely right-wing extremist". Krah advised his fellow party members against appearances with Sellner.

Sellner: Don't fall into a distancing mania

Contradiction came from fellow AfD parliamentary group member Torben Braga. Krah's personal dislike of Sellner apparently made him misjudge that it is not the task of a party to issue such instructions or recommendations to people or associations from the pre-political sphere, the Thuringian told the newspaper "Welt". Sellner himself accused the Federal Administrative Court of an "attempt at blackmail". He told the newspaper that the AfD should not fall into a delusion of distancing and panic.

Court saw "Compact" as identifying with the concept of remigration

The Federal Constitutional Court lifted the ban on the far-right magazine "Compact" from summer 2024 at the end of June. The judges did not consider the threshold of hostility to the constitution to have been crossed. However, when handing down the judgment, the Senate made it clear that the makers of the magazine identified with Sellner's "remigration concept". The reasons for the ruling that have now been published contain detailed explanations of the legal assessment of the concept.

In May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution announced that it wanted to classify the AfD as a confirmed right-wing extremist movement. The authority initially put this on hold due to a lawsuit filed by the AfD. In Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Brandenburg, the classification applies to the respective state associations.