Anne Will regrets not inviting the AfD to her talk show: This does not correspond to the mandate of the public broadcaster

How should the media deal with the AfD ? This discussion is as old as the party itself. Journalist Anne Will reflects on the way the AfD was handled in her former ARD talk show. In the final year of the show, which was named after her and was discontinued at the end of 2023, the AfD was no longer invited, Will explained in an episode of the media podcast "Läuft" released on Tuesday.

"You could say that in one or two places, it was no longer really justifiable from a journalistic perspective, for example, on election nights when the AfD celebrated astonishing successes." This presents a difficulty. "We were able to tolerate it because we knew we would soon be ending this format. But that doesn't correspond to the mission of public television."

After 16 years, Will gave up hosting the talk show "Anne Will" on Das Erste in December 2023. For about a year now, she has hosted a weekly podcast. Under the title "Politics with Anne Will," she discusses a current political topic with her guests.

The 59-year-old explained that she didn't have to invite the AfD to her own podcast: "I don't work for the public broadcasting system, I'm not bound by state contracts. I don't have a mandate; I can decide all of this myself. And I'm deciding against inviting anyone from the AfD." This is "even more so" after the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classified the entire party as definitely right-wing extremist.

For journalists at public broadcasters (ÖRR), this classification will certainly result in changes in how they deal with the AfD, Will said. They have to think very carefully about when to invite the AfD and about which topics. "I would always advise inviting them to discuss topics, not to discuss themselves."

Talking with the AfD about the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution's classification isn't a good idea. "I'd rather talk to someone who understands the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution's classifications and who doesn't immediately discredit the Office," Will said. But one could certainly talk with the AfD about pension policy, labor market policy, or health policy. "That has always been the more appropriate way to deal with the AfD."

At the beginning of May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the AfD as a "confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor." The AfD is taking legal action against this decision. The classification is therefore suspended until the Cologne Administrative Court decides on a corresponding urgent application. (with epd)