"The Aggressive Stance of AfD" - Uncovering the Claims in the BfV Report
The Constitutional Court's AfD report asserts this stance.
The bombshell BfV report, which brands the AfD as "unequivocally right-wing extremist," has sparked a wave of controversy. Initially, only the outcome was made public, but now we have a peek into the 1,108-page assessment and the reasoning behind the BfV's argumentation.
The "core leadership of the AfD" demonstrates a "consolidated antagonistic stance towards foreigners," the BfV concludes in its report, initially kept secret and now being exposed. Last week, the agency classified the party as "unequivocally right-wing extremist." This extensive report by the BfV enlists the factors that contributed to this classification.
The Federal Office reports, among other things, that the AfD's "constitution-threatening orientation" has "matured into certainty," according to "Der Spiegel," which got a sneak peek into the thorough assessment. According to this, incriminating statements from a total of 353 members were recorded, spanning from the local level up to party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla. Almost all members of the federal board are cited in the report with such statements.
"The Storm Cometh"
Several provocative statements, including racist and right-wing extremist ones, contribute to the BfV's judgement. "If we face a government that declares war on us, then we'll wage war against this government. We aim to remove these figures from their seats," said the Saxony-Anhalt state parliamentarian Hans-Thomas Tillschneider in 2023, as reported in the assessment. "The cartel parties are dismantling our Germany like soap in lukewarm water!", said Björn Höcke about a year later. And: "We'll shut off this tap tomorrow!"
"A Sign of Moderation, None to Be Seen"
The BfV asserts that statements like these and others reveal no signs of moderation within the AfD. "It is still possible for more moderate forces within the AfD to reverse the constitution-threatening character of the entire party" is doubted by the domestic intelligence service.
Ethno-Nationalism Concerns
The BfV also views the prevalence within the Alternative for Germany of an "ethnocentric definition of the people" as problematic. The AfD politicians thus distinguish between "pure" Germans, who have lived in the country for generations, and "passport Germans," such as migrants. These individuals are seen as inferior by the party elites, a view that is incompatible with Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law, which upholds human dignity as inviolable.
The BfV detects a "steady provocation" against migrants, refugees, and Muslims by party functionaries. The AfD perceives these groups as a "dangerous collective." The AfD continually proposes "remigration" as a "solution" to the "problem." The BfV considers it "disingenuous" for AfD politicians to claim that this primarily involves lawful deportations of rejected asylum seekers and migrants without valid residence permits. Several AfD members spoke of "millions of remigrations," which would exceed the number of deportable foreigners "by a multiple."
Targeting Democracy
The domestic intelligence agency also suspects that the AfD is targeting the "democratic principle" itself. Its members repeatedly and indiscriminately defame other politicians, labeling them as "political gangsters" or "traitors to the people." The report by the intelligence agency lists numerous instances where AfD politicians compared the government to the Nazi regime or the DDR.
The AfD has already filed a lawsuit against the intelligence agency's classification. Weidel branded the assessment an "egregious breach of the law and an assault on democracy." Previously, the party hired lawyers who warned the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The AfD demanded, in an 195-page letter, that it should not be classified as a "prominent right-wing extremist endeavor." Even when the party was designated a right-wing extremist threat a few years ago, the party leadership filed a lawsuit. The Administrative Court of Cologne ruled the procedure legal at the time.
Domestic Intelligence Agency, AfD
Note: The BfV report also alleges that the AfD tends to give a misleading interpretation of the term "remigration" to imply mass deportations of migrants and refugees, a claim that far exceeds the actual number of deportable foreigners.
According to the report, the AfD is also accused of making statements that are racially discriminatory towards non-ethnic Germans, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries. Additionally, the BfV contends that the AfD has connections with right-wing extremist groups and works against core constitutional principles such as human dignity and the rule of law.
- The BfV's reported findings indicate that the AfD's policy orientation leans towards right-wing extremism, as documented in the 1,108-page assessment.
- In the context of community policies, the BfV has expressed concern over the AfD's ethnocentric definition of the people, which escalates to discrimination against migrants, refugees, and Muslims.
- WhatsApp and other communication platforms have been used by AfD members to make provocative statements that challenge the democratic principle, including comparing the government to the Nazi regime or the DDR.
- The employment policy of the AfD has been scrutinized by the BfV due to its proposed "remigration" solution, which appears disingenuous as it suggests mass deportations exceeding the actual number of deportable foreigners.
