BERLIN, November 10. /TASS/. Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - Reason and Justice party, sharply criticized German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for his statements that democracy in Germany is under threat and accused him of "political stupidity."

"This is not abuse of power, it's just political stupidity," Wagenknecht told reporters. "I'm sorry, I have to speak so bluntly."

The barrier created by the traditional parties against the Alternative for Germany (AfD), in her opinion, does not make Germany a better place. On the contrary, it has led to a steady increase in support for the AfD, the politician pointed out.

"This should have already reached the president of Germany," Wagenknecht said, adding that there are serious disagreements between her party and the AfD. However, her party, as Wagenknecht explained, opposes "tactical maneuvers to exclude the party."

On November 9, when Germany celebrates the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and remembers the victims of the 1938 Jewish pogroms, Steinmeier said that democracy in Germany was under threat like never before after the unification of the country. Without directly mentioning the Alternative for Germany, he said that banning a party was supposedly a legitimate step if its activities were unconstitutional. However, according to Steinmeier, it is a "last resort."

This provoked renewed discussions about possible banning the Alternative for Germany party.

The AfD reacted with indignation.

"Democracy in Germany is stable precisely because it can resist the speeches that use this fateful day to incite discord in Germany," Tino Chrupalla, co-chairman of Alternative for Germany, told reporters.

Another co-chairman, Alice Weidel, accused Steinmeier of politically motivated statements.

The situation around AfD

On May 2, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany classified the AfD as a right-wing extremist organization, whose ideology is incompatible with democratic freedoms. The decision opens up the possibility for the authorities to spy on party members, including phone tapping. The organization's activities are not prohibited yet - this can only be done by the Federal Constitutional Court. If banned, the AfD will become the third banned party in the history of Germany (after the Socialist Imperial Party, which united former Nazis, in 1952 and the Communist Party of Germany in 1956).

The AfD appeared on the political scene in 2013 against the backdrop of economic problems in the eurozone and a debt crisis in Greece. For a long time, the party was mainly concerned about the economic agenda, but as the migration crisis in Germany and the EU worsened, its popularity ratings began to grow. In Germany, the AfD is called a right-wing populist party. Other political forces consider it impossible to cooperate with it in a coalition either at the federal or regional levels. In the early Bundestag elections on February 23, the AfD took second place for the first time in its history.