Urgent Application by Enrico Damm Following Parliamentary Group Expulsion Unsuccessful

AfD state parliament MP Enrico Damm has failed in his attempt to legally avert the immediate consequences of his expulsion from his parliamentary group. The State Constitutional Court of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern dismissed his urgent application for interim legal protection on Thursday morning. Damm had applied to suspend his removal from the AfD parliamentary group and the blocking of his financial and personnel resources pending a decision in the main proceedings. The court has not yet publicly disclosed the exact reasons for rejecting the application. The decision means that the consequences triggered by the expulsion from the group remain in force for the time being. Damm's expulsion from the AfD state parliamentary group was decided by the group assembly on Tuesday of this week. The justification cited a "profound rift" that made further trusting cooperation within the group community impossible. Group leaders and members had previously criticized internal conflicts and Damm's divergent political positions. The MP himself rejected the accusations and considers the expulsion unlawful. The loss of group status entails the withdrawal of essential parliamentary working foundations: Damm no longer has access to group-related financial resources, his staff positions are being cut, and his speaking time quota in the plenary session as well as his participation rights in committees are significantly restricted. In German constitutional law, a parliamentary group is a voluntary association of MPs from the same party or political orientation, regulated by internal rules. Group status brings significant rights and resources, including increased state funding, more speaking time, and better opportunities for participation in committees. Expulsion from a group is a serious interference with an MP's parliamentary work and is subject to strict legal and procedural requirements, which are often contested before the state constitutional courts or the Federal Constitutional Court. The now-rejected urgent application was a preliminary step in the legal dispute. Damm can and, in all likelihood, will pursue the main proceedings before the State Constitutional Court in Schwerin, where the substantive legality of the expulsion decision will be finally examined. In this proceeding, the group's statutes, the actions of the group assembly, and the alleged reasons for the rift will undergo detailed legal assessment. Until such a decision, which could take months, Damm remains an independent MP without a group. The internal dispute within the AfD parliamentary group in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which led to this escalation, reflects larger tensions and factional struggles that have occupied the party at the state and federal levels for some time. The current court defeat weakens Damm's position for now but leaves the fundamental question of legality open.