Germany’s domestic intelligence agency formally classified the Alternative for Germany as a right-wing extremist movement, meaning authorities will have enhanced powers to monitor the party as a potential threat to democracy.
The judgment by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution “is based on an extremely careful expert review spanning approximately three years” that examined remarks made by high-ranking AfD officials, according to a statement published Friday by Sinan Selen and Silke Willems, the office’s co-vice presidents.
“Key to our assessment is the AfD’s ethnic-based understanding of the people, which devalues entire population groups in Germany and violates their human dignity,” they added. “This is reflected in the party’s overall anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim stance.”
Support for the AfD has strengthened considerably in recent years, particularly in Germany’s former communist eastern regions, with many voters drawn to the party due to concern about irregular migration and frustration with mainstream parties.
The AfD, which has been endorsed by Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer and Donald Trump adviser Elon Musk, is the strongest force in some opinion polls ahead of the conservative bloc led by incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who’s due to take office on Tuesday.
Beatrix von Storch, a deputy leader of the AfD’s parliamentary caucus, dismissed the intelligence agency’s move and accused it of acting on behalf of a “defeated government.”
“Democracy is in danger,” von Storch said in a post on social media. “By these anti-democrats who want to ban the strongest political force in the country.”
Die abgewählte Regierung, die in 2 Tagen aus dem Amt ist und heute nur noch kommissarisch im Amt, erklärt die Opposition zu einer extremistischen Gefahr für die Demokratie.
— Beatrix von Storch (@Beatrix_vStorch) May 2, 2025
Das „Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz“ ist die Regierung. Aktuell also auch noch eine abgewählte…
Outgoing Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the intelligence agency’s assessment “clear and unambiguous.”
Sonntagsfrage zur Bundestagswahl • Forsa für RTL/n-tv: AfD 26 % | CDU/CSU 24 % | SPD 14 % | GRÜNE 12 % | DIE LINKE 10 % | BSW 4 % | FDP 3 % | Sonstige 7 %
— Wahlrecht.de (@Wahlrecht_de) April 29, 2025
➤ Übersicht: https://t.co/Gzilw3J3L9
➤ Verlauf: https://t.co/FJLtuxG3lb pic.twitter.com/x3jfA3VEhd
The AfD’s “nationalist stance is evident in racist statements, especially against immigrants and Muslims,” Faeser said in an emailed statement, insisting that the agency “operates independently” in protecting Germany’s democratic order.
“There was no political influence whatsoever on the new report,” she added. “The new assessment will certainly be subject to judicial review as well. In a constitutional state, independent courts ultimately make the decisions.”
The intelligence agency’s move is likely to revive calls for the AfD to be outlawed, though legal experts consider it extremely difficult to successfully enact such a ban under Germany’s constitutional rules.
Some of the AfD’s regional chapters, notably in the eastern state of Thuringia, have already been classified as “right-wing extremist” by regional intelligence agencies.
Also read: German Election: Conservatives win, AfD and potential coalitions
Source: Iain Rogers – Bloomberg
