German Intelligence Declares AfD As ‘Extremist’ Threat, Cites ‘Anti-Democratic Ideology’
Germany's domestic intelligence agency classified the far-right Alternative for Germany as an extremist entity that threatens democracy.
The domestic intelligence agency on Friday classified the far-right Alternative for Germany as an extremist entity that threatens democracy. According to news agency Reuters, the status should make it easier for the authorities to use the secret methods to monitor the party, for example, by recruiting confidential informants and intercepting communications.
The AfD, however, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The stigma as well as the restrictions on civil service employment could also hamper its ability to attract members.
"The ethnicity- and ancestry-based conception of the people that predominates within the party is not compatible with the free democratic order," the domestic intelligence agency said in a statement as quoted by news agency Reuters.
"It aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, to subject them to treatment that violates the constitution, and thereby assign them a legally subordinate status."
The AfD does not consider German citizens of immigrant backgrounds from predominantly Muslim countries as equal members of the German people, it added.
The decision comes days before the conservative leader Friedrich Merz is due to be sworn in as Germany's new chancellor and amid a heated debate over how to deal with the AfD in the new parliament.
The party won a record number of seats, which theoretically entitles it to chair several key parliamentary committees.
According to a news agency report quoting analysts, the decision risks further fueling support for the AfD and its narrative that it is being sidelined by a "cartel" of established parties.
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