Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has formally designated the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a “right-wing extremist” organization, a move that grants authorities broader surveillance powers ahead of the European elections.
The classification, announced on Friday, marks the culmination of a multi-year investigation and positions the AfD as the most prominent political party in postwar German history to be placed under such scrutiny. According to BfV President Thomas Haldenwang, the agency had completed a comprehensive 1,100-page audit outlining the AfD’s repeated violations of the country’s democratic order.
Haldenwang stated that the party and its officials have “spread anti-constitutional conspiracy theories, stoked hatred against minorities, and repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of the democratic state.” He added, “We see sufficient evidence that parts of the AfD are not just right-wing populist but clearly right-wing extremist.”
This designation allows the intelligence service to deploy covert surveillance tactics, including the use of informants, monitoring internal communications, and collecting data on AfD members. The move could have significant political ramifications for the AfD, which currently holds seats in the Bundestag (Germany’s federal parliament) and has growing influence in several state legislatures.
The decision comes just weeks before European Parliament elections in which the AfD is expected to perform well, particularly in eastern Germany. The party has already surged in polls and currently ranks as the second-most popular party in some regions. Analysts say the timing of the announcement may further polarize the electorate, possibly galvanizing the AfD’s base.
AfD leadership immediately condemned the classification. Tino Chrupalla, the party’s co-leader, described the BfV’s decision as a politically motivated attack aimed at weakening the AfD’s electoral prospects. “This is not about the protection of the constitution. This is about eliminating political competition,” Chrupalla said. The party also announced plans to challenge the designation in court.
Germany’s government has long grappled with how to respond to the AfD’s rhetoric and actions. Founded in 2013 as an anti-euro party, the AfD later shifted its focus to opposing immigration and Islam, especially after the 2015 refugee crisis. Since then, the party has drawn increasing scrutiny for ties to far-right movements, Holocaust revisionism, and hate speech.
The BfV has previously monitored the AfD’s youth wing and its most radical regional branches. In 2021, the agency labeled the AfD as a “suspected” extremist group, a precursor to Friday’s formal designation. That initial step triggered a legal challenge by the party, but a court eventually ruled that the BfV was justified in its assessment.
The new classification explicitly cites not only the party’s rhetoric but also its connections to external extremist groups, including those that promote anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim ideologies. Haldenwang said his agency had documented “numerous instances” where senior AfD officials made statements or aligned themselves with ideologies incompatible with Germany’s democratic order.
Human rights groups and Jewish organizations welcomed the BfV’s announcement. The Central Council of Jews in Germany called the move “long overdue” and described the AfD as a “threat to Germany’s postwar democratic values.”
However, legal scholars warned that the surveillance could also raise concerns about freedom of speech and political expression, particularly if not applied transparently or proportionately. While the BfV emphasized that the move was not a blanket ban on the party, critics cautioned that missteps could further entrench anti-establishment sentiment among AfD supporters.
The ruling coalition, composed of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and Free Democrats (FDP), has so far refrained from openly discussing the possibility of a legal ban on the AfD. Still, the BfV’s formal designation may intensify pressure for broader political action as Germany braces for upcoming national and European votes.
Source; Al Jazeera
