AfD man Maier may return to the Bundestag

The AfD politician Jens Maier (62), who has been classified as a right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, may return to the Bundestag - as a replacement for the Saxon member of the Bundestag Mike Moncsek. He won a direct mandate in Zwickau in last Sunday's state election in Saxony and wants to give up his seat in the Bundestag "if it is not to the detriment of the parliamentary group, the party and my colleagues", as the 60-year-old said in response to an inquiry.

In any case, Moncsek says he wants to remain in the Bundestag until a new Saxon head of government is elected. According to the procedure in Saxony, this would be the case on February 3, 2025 at the latest. Should the election fail, a new state parliament would have to be elected. With his hesitation, Moncsek wants to avoid being left completely without a mandate. "Zeit Online" and Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland had previously reported on the possible personnel rochade. Maier told "Zeit Online": "I'm back."

Maier previously sat in the Bundestag for the AfD between 2017 and 2021. He then lost his seat and wanted to return to his former profession as a judge at the Dresden district court. The Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution had already classified Maier, who comes from Bremen, as far-right extremist in 2020. Saxony's Ministry of Justice filed a disciplinary complaint against Maier in order to remove him from office. He was accused of breaching his official duties in his previous judicial office.

The competent court in Leipzig ruled that the early retirement was permissible, citing Maier's racist and derogatory comments, including on social media. In October last year, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe confirmed the decision that Maier was no longer allowed to work as a judge. The BGH rejected Maier's appeal against the ruling from Leipzig.