The issue of the extreme right in Germany is beginning to take on large dimensions, as the rise of the AfD causes reflection and reactions both in society, with mass demonstrations, and also among political personnel. Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Robert Habeck once again sounded the alarm, saying that the AfD plans to turn Germany into an authoritarian state, similar to Russia.

A week after it was revealed that members of the far-right party attended a meeting to discuss mass deportations, which reportedly included German citizens, Robert Habeck said the danger AfD posed to democracy had been severely underestimated.

As a fifth night of anti-AfD protests saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets of German cities and even more massive demonstrations are expected on Wednesday night, Habeck appeared to support calls to outlaw the party, but stressed the dangers of such a move. , speaking of a “dangerous boomerang” if they failed.

“The damage a failed attempt would cause would be enormous. This is why if a case is made, it should absolutely 100% stand up in court. It’s something you have to look at very carefully,” the vice chancellor told Stern magazine.

Such a decision would be up to Germany’s constitutional court “and the hurdles are, as they should be, very high,” he said. “It would be much better for the AfD to be democratically defeated at the polls,” he added.

“Right-wing authoritarians are worried about an attack on the essence of democracy,” Habeck said. “They want to turn Germany into a state like Russia and they are systematically preparing for it.”

The AfD has drifted to the right since its founding in 2013 and has seen a steady rise in popularity in recent months, in some cases overtaking the ruling parties.

Last week, media and political observers examined the evidence of which members of the AfD, neo-Nazis and far-right movements were at the November rally in Potsdam.

The chancellor, Olaf Solz, tweeted on Wednesday: “I am grateful that tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Germany in recent days to protest against racism, bigotry and our liberal democracy. This gives us courage and shows: there are far more of us democrats than those who seek to divide.”

Lars Klingbeil, the chairman of the ruling Social Democrats, called on “all sane people” who had so far not spoken out against the AfD to “raise their intensity”.