Ten Years On: Assessing Merkel’s ‘We Can Do It!’ – DW (08/31/2025)

Since 2017, political parties in Germany, including the AfD, have faced a total of €1.8 million ($2.1 million) in administrative penalties, according to a report seen by dpa. The AfD has been the chief recipient of these fines, accounting for over half of them. The penalties are for violations such as improper donations, application of parliamentary group funds, and falsification of financial reports.

The AfD has received about €1.1 million in fines in total. Their most serious administrative error came from accepting unauthorized donations from a Swiss company, Goal AG, for election campaigns in 2016 in Baden-Württemberg and in 2017 in North Rhine-Westphalia. An additional €400,000 donation from Switzerland was also flagged. The AfD is contesting another claim of a €108,000 donation in court.

AfD’s Response to the Fines

In its defense, the AfD notes its relatively short history compared to other parties and states that it lacked decades of experience in handling donations when it was formed. However, a spokesperson mentions that the party now employs a strict “six-eye-principle” and offers in-depth training.

The other major parties in the German Bundestag—CDU, SPD, Greens, Left Party, CSU, and FDP—have faced much smaller penalties. The CDU, led by Friedrich Merz, is fined approximately €200,000. The SPD, as junior coalition partners, is fined around €140,000. The Green Party is fined €134,000, the Left Party €92,000, the CSU €79,300, and the FDP only €2,300.