Professional bans | "Constitutional loyalty": Questionable lists

Ever since the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution announced that it classified the AfD as a "confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor," there has been a debate about how the state should deal with party members who are employed by it or who are seeking employment. Even though the domestic intelligence agency's classification is on hold, the federal and state interior ministers are discussing how to deal with the far-right party in the future. While the Christian Democrats and Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) are seen as more of a brake, the Social Democrats are pushing for the most concrete roadmap possible, which could culminate in a motion to ban the AfD. Therefore, it was no surprise when it was announced just two weeks ago that Rhineland-Palatinate, governed by a traffic light coalition, would no longer employ AfD members. A clear stance, social democratic domestic policy one year before the state elections – the signal seemed clear. After a few days and doubts about the legality of the plan, the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Interior published a "Clarification of the Administrative Regulation on Constitutional Loyalty."

In the future, applicants will be required to sign a declaration of loyalty to the constitution and declare "that they do not belong to any extremist organization or have not belonged to one in the last five years." If applicants do not sign, they must "dispel any doubts about their own loyalty to the constitution in an individual case review." If they fail to do so, they will not be hired. Even for existing employees, "membership in such a listed organization could constitute a disciplinary offense." However, the decisive factor is and remains the individual case.

Who the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution lists

The list of extremist organizations in Rhineland-Palatinate and, similarly, in Bavaria, is compiled by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The Mainz-based agency lists 86 such organizations. 22 of them are right-wing: neo-Nazi fraternities, small parties, the Antaios publishing house, fraternities, and the AfD. 18 organizations are listed under "left-wing extremism": several orthodox Marxist groups, the Free Women Workers' Union (FAU), the post-autonomous "umsGanze" alliance, and the solidarity organization Rote Hilfe. Migrantifa Rhein-Main, along with the PKK, the fascist Grey Wolves, and Palestine Solidarity groups, are listed in the "Other Extremist Organizations" category. There are separate categories for Islamists and Reich Citizens' groups.

The measure from Rhineland-Palatinate was received positively by many who want a more resilient state against the AfD. It would be good if AfD teachers didn't indoctrinate children, they cited as an example, citing the teacher Björn Höcke. Nor did they want AfD members in judge's robes or police uniforms. These are good goals, but they have their pitfalls.

In practice, the state often doubted the constitutionality of left-wingers very early on, and very late, or not at all, the constitutionality of right-wingers. To remember this, one needn't go back to the time of professional bans in the 1970s and 80s. There are very recent cases. In February, the Bavarian Ministry of Culture refused 28-year-old climate activist Lisa Pöttinger from Munich admission to her traineeship. The ministry cited her membership in the "Open Anti-Capitalist Climate Meeting Munich," which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as left-wing extremist. In addition, ongoing criminal proceedings—including for damage to AfD posters—led to the rejection. The Munich Administrative Court rejected Pöttinger's urgent application , which is why she must now wait for the outcome of the main proceedings. The GEW is supporting her legally and considers this an unconstitutional professional ban.

Successes in court

A similar case involved Benedikt Glasl a few years ago. Because of his membership in the Left Youth and the Social Democratic Party (SDS), he was denied a traineeship. Glasl won in court, his claims for damages were accepted, and he was eventually granted civil service status. Those affected by such "professional bans" have repeatedly been granted legal sanction in court. In 2016, Kerem Schamberger had to wait months for admission to a doctoral position at LMU Munich because of his DKP membership. The Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution spent six months examining his "loyalty to the constitution" and ultimately recommended against hiring him, arguing that his "advocacy of Marxist-Leninist doctrine" was incompatible with the free and democratic basic order. However, LMU Munich decided to ignore this recommendation and hired Schamberger on January 1, 2017. He successfully completed his doctorate on the Kurdish media system.

However, this practice is not unique to Bavaria. In 2004 and 2005, authorities in Baden-Württemberg and Hesse denied Michael Csaszkóczy employment as a teacher. Because he was active in the Red Aid movement and an Antifa group, they doubted his loyalty to the constitution. Csaszkóczy won court cases in both states and was even awarded €33,000 in damages.

Right-wing extremists have been lawfully removed from the police force on several occasions in recent years. In several cases, they espoused the Reich Citizens' ideology and rejected the Federal Republic of Germany. In Düsseldorf, police officers were lawfully dismissed from their civil service positions. Their participation in racist and anti-Semitic chat groups raised sufficient doubts about their suitability for civil service status. John Hoewer, author of the new right-wing novel about drinking and rioting "EuropaPowerbrutal," was recently denied legal training due to the blatant racism in the book and his activities for the "Young Alternative" and the "One Percent" association. Hoewer cannot therefore become a fully qualified lawyer. There is an outcry on the far right about the "professional ban for a novel." Hoewer's political activities are only mentioned in passing. The legal case has not yet been decided.

Criticism of rule requests

State interior ministries across Germany are reforming recruitment requirements for the civil service. Under the well-meaning title "Constitutional Loyalty Check," a standard request for female civil servant candidates to submit their application to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution was introduced last year. Hamburg plans to introduce standard requests for information from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution under the title "Strengthening the Resilience of the Public Service against Enemies of the Constitution." The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) sharply criticized the plan back in January. It is certainly a good thing to do something against racists and enemies of democracy in the public service. "However, implementing this objective requires a special sense of proportion. This is also something we learn from the historical experience with the so-called Radical Decree," explained Hamburg's DGB Chairwoman Tanja Chawla. Hamburg has already taken far-reaching measures by tightening disciplinary law for female civil servants and reintroducing the standard request for information in the police force. Now, a comprehensive concept is needed to strengthen the resilience of the public service against enemies of the constitution. "Questions of training, continuing education, and educational leave play just as important a role here as ensuring democratic participation and opportunities for young people to shape their careers. In this context, the urgent question arises as to whether there are alternatives to the reintroduction of the standard request to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution," said the union leader. A question that political leaders should perhaps also consider. As a result of the Radical Decree, 1.4 million people were investigated. 11,000 proceedings were initiated. Over 2,000 disciplinary proceedings were initiated against teachers. 136 were dismissed.