Classification, based on attempts to ‘undermine free democratic order’, opens way for surveillance of party and likely to revive discussion of a ban.
Germany’s domestic intelligence service has designated the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a “right-wing extremist” group.
The designation, made public by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution on Friday following an audit by the BfV security service, makes the party subject to surveillance. It could also revive discussion over a potential ban for the AfD, which has surged in popularity in recent years and placed second in February’s general election.
The BfV, which had already designated several local AfD chapters as extremist, said it decided to give the entire party the label due to its attempts to “undermine the free, democratic” order in Germany.
“This is evident in the numerous xenophobic, anti-minority, anti-Islamic, and anti-Muslim statements continually made by leading party officials,” it added.
The AfD, which has capitalised on growing anti-immigration sentiment amid the country’s economic slowdown and currently tops several opinion polls, condemned the designation as “clearly politically motivated”.
The designation comes just days before Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is due to be sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor.
There is a heated debate within the party, which has thrashed out a coalition deal with the left-leaning Social Democrats, over how to deal with the AfD in the new parliament.
The classification will make it easier for the authorities to use secret methods to monitor the AfD, including intercepting communications.
It could also reignite attempts to get the AfD banned.
Germany’s outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz from the Social Democrats said on Friday that he is against rushing to outlaw the AfD, adding it should be evaluated “carefully”.
The radical right-wing party has been under scrutiny by the BfV for its links to extremists and its ties to Russia for some time.
Of the 38,800 far-right extremists counted by the agency last year, more than 10,000 are members.
Certain factions of the AfD, including three regional parties in the east of the country as well as its youth wing, were already classified as extremist.
The party at large was classified as a suspected extremist case in 2021. The security services have now formalised the designation for the national party as a whole.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the classification was “clear and unambiguous” and had resulted from a 1,100-page “comprehensive and neutral audit” that had no political influence.
AfD’s co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla charged in a statement that the party is “being publicly discredited and criminalised”.
“It is sad to see the state of democracy in our country when the old parties are now even using the most politically questionable means against the strongest opposition party,” said Anton Baron, an AfD legislator in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
