German intelligence classifies AfD as far-right group

Brussels – After a lengthy three-year investigation, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany ruled that the nationalist and anti-migrant Alternative für Deutschland party was “an extreme rightwing organization” and “not compatible with the free democratic order.” The decision reopened the debate over a possible ban on AfD, which at February’s federal elections  was the second most-voted party in the country and is now the main opposition force in the Bundestag.

In an over 1,000-page report, the German intelligence service states that within the party, “a conception of the people based on ethnicity and descent predominates” and that AfD “aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, subject them to treatment that violates the constitution, and consequently assign them a legally subordinate status.” The party led by Tino Churupalla and Alice Weidel pursues an “ethnically based” policy that “downgrades entire population groups in Germany and violates human dignity.”

While its leaders denounce a “severe blow” to democracy and announce appeals, the US administration goes even further, with the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, commenting in a post on X, “Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise.” Berlin’s Foreign Ministry immediately replied to Washington’s interference: “This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learned from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped,” reads a post on X.

In reality, AfD will be able to continue to operate at the national and state levels, and its dissolution remains a somewhat distant prospect. The parliament or the federal government must file a request to the Constitutional Court to abolish a party, which would then have to examine and rule on the case. But politically speaking, banning AfD would mean eliminating a party voted for only three months ago by more than 10 million German citizens.

 The hot potato will pass to Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, who is due to take office as chancellor next week and recently sought AfD’s backing on the immigration dossier by breaking the long-standing cordon sanitaire against the far right. The outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz, urged caution: “We have to evaluate this classification carefully,” the Social Democratic leader said Friday. According to a survey published by the German newspaper Bild, 48 percent of German citizens would favor the ban, 37 percent opposed it, and 15 percent had no clear opinion. However, doubts persist: 39 percent of citizens believe that any proceedings against AfD would damage democracy, while 41 percent believe the debate would only help the far-right party.