German counterintelligence – national Constitution Protection Office (BfV) – qualified the AfD organization as definitely far right. The suspicion that the organization is pursuing action against free democratic order has been confirmed and strengthened in key areas.
"The ethnic-original party's dominant knowing of the nation is not in line with the free democratic basic order," BfV stated. The aim is to exclude certain groups of the population from equal participation in society. "For example, AfD believes that German citizens with a migrant background from Muslim countries are not equal members of the German people according to the cultural definition advocated by the party," states the message of the national intelligence agency.
The statements and positions of the organization and leading representatives of AfD violate the rule of human dignity – stated Vice Presidents BfV Sinan Selen and Silke Willems. This is decisive for the current evaluation of the organization by counterintelligence.
Previously partially far right
In the past, the Land Offices of Counterintelligence in the 3 East German Länder, Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, ranked the AfD structures there as “confirmed utmost right-wing movements”.
After the media reported in February 2021 that the organization as a full had been classified as "a fishy of right-wing extremism", the national Office for the Protection of the Constitution had to wait almost a year at the request of the Administrative Court of Cologne to make this assessment public and to take appropriate reflection of the party. In May 2024, the ultimate Administrative Court in Münster ruled that the counterintelligence was right, classifying AfD as a suspicious case of right-wing extremism. The legal dispute continues.
Intelligence reflection measures
Also in case of organization reflection as suspected of right-wing extremism, it is allowed to usage intelligence resources, including the usage of confidential informants to collect interior information about the party. Observation, recording and sound is besides allowed. However, the rule of proportionality should be respected in the choice and application of those measures.
It is different in the case of classification as a confirmed case of utmost right traffic – then the threshold for specified measures is reduced.
The study will not be published
The German counterintelligence's reflection of the AfD has nothing to do with the ban on the party's activities, as only Bundestag, Bundesrat or the German Government can apply to the national Constitutional Court for illegalisation. However, the fresh AfD classification by counterintelligence may lead 1 of these 3 constitutional bodies to make specified a request.
The German counterintelligence decision is based on a comprehensive BfV report, which is for interior usage only. It besides contains facts from the February elections to the Bundestag. There are no plans to print this report.
