AfD membership is still no obstacle to a job in the civil service in Saxony. This was made clear by the Ministry of the Interior after corresponding plans became known in Rhineland-Palatinate. There, AfD members are to be denied access to the civil service.
In future, it will be mandatory to provide written instruction on loyalty to the constitution during the recruitment process, Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Michael Ebling (SPD) announced in Mainz on Thursday. All applicants would have to declare that they do not belong to an extremist organization or have not belonged to one in the past five years.
At the beginning of May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the AfD nationwide as a right-wing extremist organization. This has been the case for the Saxon AfD state association since December 2023. The party rejects this and is fighting back.
AfD party membership has no immediate consequences for civil servants
Even then, Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) made it clear that the classification has no immediate consequences for civil servants with an AfD party membership. "Mere membership is not enough," he said at the time. In individual cases, there must also be specific actions in which right-wing extremist views become clear. Only then could there be an examination under civil service law. There is also no obligation for civil servants to disclose which party they belong to.
"The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) is involved without cause in the case of applicants who are intended to be appointed to the police force, for example. In addition, the appointing authorities check in each individual case whether the applicants offer the guarantee that they will stand up for the free democratic basic order at all times," the Ministry of the Interior announced in response to an inquiry. According to the current status, there have been no notifications from the LfV regarding individuals in the context of constitutional compliance checks so far this year.
The Saxon police have a coordination office for preventing and combating extremism. It has been recording suspected cases relating to right-wing extremism since 2017. By mid-February this year, a total of 113 cases had been recorded.
Saxony's state parliament has passed a law on constitutional compliance
In March 2024, the Saxon state parliament passed a law on constitutional compliance in the public sector. Among other things, it provides for police officers and employees of the judiciary to be checked by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution before being appointed as civil servants. Civil servants in senior positions and in particularly sensitive areas in particular must be above reproach with regard to their loyalty to the constitution, it was stated at the time.
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