Klüssendorf told the ‘Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger’ that the AfD has ‘absolutely no interest in being integrated into democratic discourse.’ The party does not adhere to red lines but wants to destroy democratic parties. He was responding to Steinbrück, who had suggested a ‘conditional willingness to talk’ in the podcast ‘Ronzheimer’.
Steinbrück had declared the so-called firewall necessary for the foreseeable future but asked whether one could shift the AfD to a right-conservative position through red lines. He referred to Andreas Rödder, who considers cooperation with a clear demarcation from right-wing extremists conceivable. Klüssendorf disagreed: The AfD ‘simply does not stand on the same ground of our constitution.’
In the podcast, Steinbrück rejected a ban procedure against the AfD, as a failure before the Federal Constitutional Court would have ‘catastrophic consequences.’ Instead, he suggested the forfeiture of fundamental rights for individual AfD politicians such as Björn Höcke. EuroPulse reported on June 17, 2026, about Klüssendorf’s braking of reform expectations (https://europulse.today/spd-generalsekretaer-kluessendorf-reformpaket-erwartungen/).
Source: www.spiegel.de
