(de-news.net) – The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, Germany’s domestic intelligence and security agency, has reclassified the AfD from a suspected right-wing extremist entity to one that is now confirmed as embodying right-wing extremist tendencies. According to corresponding media reports, officials explained that this revision was based on a thorough investigation which had revealed that the party’s overall ideological formation, characterized by an ethnically exclusive conception of the people, which stands in stark opposition to the liberal democratic constitutional order.
The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz had reached its decision to reclassify the AfD after an extensive evaluation of the party’s program, public declarations, representative behavior, and affiliations with extremist groups against the backdrop of fundamental constitutional principles such as human dignity, democracy, and the rule of law. Such an ideological stance, which seeks to exclude certain groups from equal societal participation, is deemed incompatible with the constitutional order and may ultimately give rise to judicial proceedings under Article 21 of the Basic Law, according to media reports.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser regards the findings as unambiguous, emphasizing that the party’s racially charged rhetoric fundamentally violates the constitutional guarantee of human dignity. She noted that the reclassification was the outcome of an impartial, extensive review documented in a 1,100-page report, one that was free from any political influence.
Following the classification of the AfD as confirmed right-wing extremist, the AfD announced its intention to initiate legal proceedings. In particular, the party’s leadership announced legal recourse in a jointly issued statement, conveying that the decision constituted a serious blow to German democracy. The AfD dismissed the reclassification as politically motivated, alleging that it was merely part of a broader effort by established political forces to destabilize their presence in parliament. They further contended that the timing of the reclassification — on the eve of a governmental transition — served to discredit and criminalize the party. The AfD also promised support for its members employed in the public service.
The classification of the AfD has instigated a renewed debate over a potential banning. Several state leaders, including minister-presidents from Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony-Anhalt, Bremen, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, asserted that the federal government should promptly initiate a formal prohibition procedure towards the AfD to safeguard democracy. They argued that such a measure would not only expose the party’s ideological underpinnings to its electorate but also clearly delineate the unacceptable boundaries of political discourse in a democratic society.
In parallel, various political and civil society actors – including representatives from the SPD, The Left, and religious bodies such as the Central Council of Jews and the Central Council of Muslims in Germany – emphasized that the party’s extremist ideology, which seeks to marginalize certain societal groups, inherently undermines the principles of human dignity and equal participation. Some proponents called for full transparency regarding the intelligence report that underlies the current assessment, contending that such disclosure is essential for evaluating the feasibility of a ban.
