The German Internal Intelligence Service on Friday recognized the far-right party "Alternative for Germany" as an extremist organization "threatening democracy," which will allow it to better monitor the party that took second place in the February federal elections, writes Reuters.
Several branches of the AfD, including its youth wing, have already been classified as extremist. The party itself has been considered suspected of extremism since 2021, but now it is fully recognized.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany concluded that "Alternative for Germany" is a confirmed right-wing extremist movement. This conclusion is based on an extremely thorough expert review covering a period of about three years. "We reviewed numerous statements and positions of high-ranking party representatives across Germany, as well as included the latest organizational events in the report," the office reported.
"The concept of a people based on ethnicity and origin, which prevails in the party, is incompatible with the free democratic order," the internal intelligence service statement said. "It aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, subject them to treatment that violates the constitution, and thereby give them a legally subordinate status."
The AfD does not consider German citizens of immigrant origin from predominantly Muslim countries as equal members of the German people, the office added.
The "extremist" status should make it easier for authorities to use secret surveillance methods on the party, such as involving confidential informants and intercepting messages. Individuals associated with the AfD may be removed from public service positions.
As Reuters notes, the decision was made a few days before the conservative leader Friedrich Merz is to be sworn in as the new Chancellor of Germany, and amid heated debates on how to deal with the AfD in the new parliament.
The party received a record number of seats, which theoretically gives it the right to lead several key parliamentary committees, although it would still require support from other parties to do so.
According to analysts, this decision risks further strengthening the support for the AfD and its claims that it is being sidelined by a "cartel" of established parties. In recent weeks, the party has been leading in several polls.