Karlsruhe – Germany’s Constitutional Court is to issue a ruling on Tuesday on whether to outlaw the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD).
It remains unclear whether the NPD’s radical ideology will be enough to merit a constitutional ban, with the judges previously expressing doubt that such a move was necessary.
The party, frequently accused of having neo-Nazi links, has been losing influence over years amid the rise of more socially acceptable right-wing populist movements.
The Bild tabloid reported last month that a ban is likely to fail, citing a government paper on the case.
The move to ban the NPD, which has about 5,000 members, was lodged at the court by the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house of parliament.
This is the second time that the NPD has faced moves in the Constitutional Court to be banned.
In 2003, the court rejected a similar attempt due to the high number of state informants who had infiltrated the party.
Justice Minister Heiko Maas has pledged to fight right-wing extremism in Germany regardless of the ruling, telling Monday’s edition of Die Welt newspaper that “clear action against right-wing hatred remains the task of our whole society.’’
