Federal ministers must exercise restraint in disputes between parties, Germany’s Constitutional Court has ruled. The complaint against Education Minister Johanna Wanka was brought by the far-right opposition AfD party.
The Karlsruhe-based court ruled Tuesday that Wanka had exceeded the neutrality required of her office when in a 2015 ministry press statement she called for a “red card” boycott of the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Wanka had breached the precept that Cabinet ministers should remain neutral and treat political parties as equals in terms of political competition, Germany’s top court ruled.
The case dates back to the height of Germany’s crisis over refugee arrivals – when Wanka used an Education Ministry press statement to demand a “red card” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
It was her repost to an AfD’s call for “red card” demonstration in Berlin against Merkel over her pro-refugee stance.
In her declaration as minister, Wanka said: “The red card should be shown against the AfD and not against the federal chancellor.”
The AfD then submitted an urgent petition to the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, resulting in the Federal Education Ministry being required to remove her statement from its website.
AfD now in federal parliament
Back in 2015, the AfD held opposition seats in numerous regional assemblies. In last September’s federal election, it entered the federal Bundestag parliament, becoming the largest opposition grouping.
Under a part cabinet line-up announced by Merkel on Monday, Wanka, 57, who some time ago intimated her exit from cabinet, would be replaced as education minister by Christian Democrat (CDU) newcomer Anja Karliczek, 46.
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