Democracy cannot be taken for granted - this is demonstrated not least by the electoral success of far-right parties such as the AfD. Marco Wanderwitz, a long-standing member of the Bundestag for the CDU and former Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Europe, spoke out clearly early on in this debate and took an offensive stance against the normalization of right-wing extremist attitudes. He has received both broad approval and harsh criticism for this.

While others struggled with the far-right party and its successes and struggled to find strategies for dealing with it, Wanderwitz argued for an uncompromising distinction from the AfD. He saw "tipping points for our democracy" and also stated confrontationally with regard to voters: "Anyone who votes for a far-right party is not a democrat".

The Saxon member of the Bundestag did not stand again in the last parliamentary elections, citing the various hostilities against him as one of the reasons: "I have to protect my family and myself physically and mentally".

In a public discussion with Marco Wanderwitz, we discuss the current threat posed by organized right-wing extremism and the tipping point of a democracy: What does the offensive dissociation from right-wing extremist political movements entail? How do we counter a social climate that is increasingly forcing committed politicians who clearly distance themselves to retreat? What can - and must - civil society do when democratic spaces are shrinking? What role do the media and social networks play? And what are the benefits of a party ban?

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We look forward to an inspiring exchange!