German court cuts funding to hardliners

Aljazeera :
Germany can cut off state funding to the far-right Homeland party (Die Heimat) even though it is not banned, the country’s Constitutional Court has said, in a landmark ruling that has fueled debate about whether the popular hardliner Alternative for Germany (AfD) party may also be penalised.

The court in Karlsruhe on Tuesday justified its decision by saying Die Heimat, formerly known as the National Democratic Party (NPD), aimed to undermine or eliminate the country’s democratic system.

In 2017, the court said the NPD resembled Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party but decided not to ban it because it received too little support to threaten democracy.

Parliament responded by passing a law that allows hardline parties to be stripped of state funding and tax benefits. Tuesday’s decision is the first time that law has been applied.