(Bloomberg) -- Angela Merkel suffered a setback in Germany’s top court when judges ruled that the former chancellor went too far with public comments in 2020 that were critical of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

During a trip to South Africa in February of that year, Merkel said a decision by lawmakers from her Christian Democratic Union party to line up with the AfD in a vote in the Thuringia regional parliament was “unforgivable” and represented “a bad day for democracy.”

Judges at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe voted 5-3 in favor of the AfD’s complaint, ruling that Merkel’s comments had contained “a negative portrayal” of the party and she had therefore “violated the applicant’s right to equal participation in the competition between political parties.”

Merkel had also failed to take the opportunity to clarify in advance that her comments were not made in her capacity as federal chancellor but as a party politician or private individual, according to the ruling published Wednesday.

“The federal chancellor thereby influenced the competition of political parties in a one-sided way,” the ruling said. The court’s statement did not specify what consequences, if any, the decision will have for the 67-year-old Merkel, whose 16-year tenure ended in December last year.

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