Far-right German AfD leader says talk of ban reminds her of Nazi era

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel, said she feels reminded of "dark times" by the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) push for a possible ban on her party.

"So we have seen this: Adolf Hitler - oh, here comes the name - he was the first to ban other parties, restrict press freedom," Weidel said to journalists on Saturday on the sidelines of a retreat of the party's parliamentary group in Berlin.

She added that the discussion to "seriously consider a ban application against the AfD" reminded her "of very dark times."

The SPD decided at its party conference last weekend on a motion stating: "Now is the time for the constitutional bodies entitled to apply to create the conditions to immediately file an application to determine the unconstitutionality of the AfD."

A party ban would have to be decided by the Constitutional Court upon application by the federal government or either house of parliament.

A possible procedure to ban the AfD has been discussed for a long time. Supporters feel validated by a recent re-evaluation of the party by the domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which has upgraded the AfD to have "proven right-wing extremist tendencies."

The party is legally contesting this classification, which is therefore currently on hold.