Germany's satirical political party Die Partei and the Bundestag battled it out over a hefty fine leveled at the satirists last year. A fundraiser called "buy money" did not break party finance laws, the court ruled.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
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Selling €100 and two postcards for €105 as way of raising both a small amount of money — and substantial public funding — did not break German political party financing law, a Berlin administrative court ruled on Thursday.
Satirical party Die Partei (the Party) will not have to refund thousands of euros in grants from the Bundestag or be subject to penalty fines, the court added.
However, the Berlin court's ruling is not yet final. Due to the importance of the case, the court allowed for an appeal on the decision to go further to the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court as well as a "leapfrog appeal" to carry on to the Federal Administrative Court.
Party leader Martin Sonneborn posted a short message on Twitter after the court decision, simply reading: "Case won."
Last November, Sonneborn said if forced to pay the fine, it would "ruin" Die Partei.
The Bundestag announced last year that it was seeking €72,000 ($85,675) in grants be returned as well as a €384,000 fine be paid over a fundraising scheme launched in 2014 that the parliament alleged broke party finance laws.
In their usual vein of provocative campaigns meant to poke fun at Germany's other political parties, Die Partei held a fundraising program at the end of 2014 appropriately titled "Buy money." For €105, its supporters received €100 cash back along with two postcards. They made some 200,000 euros from the campaign, and soon thereafter garnered enough votes nationwide to be eligible for increased federal funding and garnered Sonneborn a seat in the European Parliament.
Founded in 2004 by Sonneborn and some fellow editors at the satirical magazine Titanic, Die Partei has accumulated a significant following, now boasting some 24,000 party members — just shy of the 25,000 in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is polling in third place behind Germany's two major parties just day ahead of the September 24 general election.
@dwnews - German satirical party Die Partei plays Facebook prank on right-wing AfD
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This is the second time in two weeks that Die Partei has made headlines. Earlier in September, they became infamous for launching a major prank on the AfD — by taking over 31 of its related Facebook pages and mocking the far-right party's racist and homophobic messages.
But Die Partei may have more in common with the AfD than it's willing to admit. Germany's far-right nationalists have also come under fire for its fundraising schemes, notably a questionable campaign of selling gold in order to keep afloat.
es, rs/sms (AFP, dpa)
German political parties you've never heard of
Sure, Germans can vote for the CDU or SPD - but also for one of these smaller, more unusual groups. Never heard of the Animal Protection Party or the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany? Then check them out now!
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst
The Animal Protection Party
In Germany, animal rights activists block off whole highways to make sure toads can cross them safely. So it's no wonder that a party like "Human Environment Animal Welfare" exists. But maybe the larger Green Party has taken the wind out of the animal protectors' sails a bit. In 2013, they could only sway around 140,000 out of Germany's almost 62 million eligible voters.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
The Republicans
This one is slightly confusing. Germany has its own Republicans - the REP, as they're known here, have no relation to the party of US President Donald Trump. German Republicans are right-wing nationalists who call themselves "conservative patriots" and say they're fighting to "preserve our culture and identity."
Image: DW
The Party
Yep, this party's simply called The Party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of German satire magazine "Titanic." The party head is Martin Sonneborn (pictured), who won The Party a seat in the European Parliament in 2014. Maybe this can improve The Party's results in the upcoming Bundestag election. In the previous one, it claimed fewer than 79,000 votes.
Image: picture-alliance/Sven Simon/M. Ossowski
Referendum Party
For the party "Starting now... Democracy through referendums - politics for the people," Switzerland is a big role model. Politicians in the German Referendum Party want all political decisions made by the people. They say this would democratize the "rule of the parties" and would lead to policies focused on the voter instead of pharmaceutical or banking lobbyists.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany
The MLPD is a small party even though half of Germany was once Communist: While the country was divided from 1949 to 1989, East Germany was ruled by the Socialist Unity Party. Today, the far-left MLPD doesn't play a role in German politics. In the last Bundestag election they got a mere 24,000 votes.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Link
Christians for Germany
"Alliance C - Christians for Germany" is a Christian party that was created in 2015 when the Christian-fundamentalist Party of Bible-abiding Christians and the Party for Labor, Environment and Family merged. The party advocates what they see as biblical values: citizen freedom, the rule of law, marriage, family and the preservation of God's creation.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. MacDougall
The Humanists
In a country so often governed by Christian Democrats, perhaps it’s no surprise that a party called The Humanists is only running in one state. Founded in 2014, with fewer than 200 members, its motto is "freedom, fairness, progress." The party’s lengthy program addresses aspects including an end to government funding for churches in Germany.
Image: Fotolia/Marek Gottschalk
V-Partei³
Voters almost across the board can vote for the V-Partei³ (the V-cubed party) - the party for "Veränderung" ("change" in English), Vegetarians and Vegans. Founded in 2016 at the Veggieworld trade fair in Munich, the party has about 1,200 members. By 2030, they’d like to see all butchers go out of business, true to their motto: "We love life."
Image: Heidi Fuller-love
Alliance for an Unconditional Basic Income
Several countries have launched basic income pilot projects and the new German party Alliance for an Unconditional Basic Income is also asking for just that: a basic income for everyone, no matter whether they work or not. Voters in all 16 federal states can cast their ballot for this alliance - even if it remains up in the air how the party would finance such an income, and how much it would be.
Image: Fotolia/Peter Atkins
Bergpartei
Despite its name, the Berlin-only Bergpartei (mountain party) has nothing to do with climbing. In an alliance with the Über-Party, it’s finally made the electoral roll at the fourth attempt. Members describe themselves as "artists, former squatters, job hoppers, media guys and other creative people" - and for a lack of funds, these leftists design their own campaign posters.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Steinberg
DU - The Urban
Another Berlin-only party is the spanking new The Urban, a Hip-Hop Party: 253 members and counting, hoping to propagate what links them, the essence of hip-hop music - respect, a sense of community and creativity. The party program has a special focus on anti-racism and anti-discrimination.
Image: DW/A. Steffes-Halmer
The Pensioners
You won't see this group on the ballot in the 2017 Bundestag elections anymore: the German Pensioner Party has retired. In the 2013 elections, it got a mere 25,000 votes and in 2016, party officials disbanded it for good.
