Blasting the Government - The Verfassungsschutz Declares AfD as a Right-Wing Extremist Party
The Constitutional Court's AfD report indicates the assertion by the court.
After years of investigation, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz) has officially declared the Alternative for Germany (AfD) a "confirmed right-wing extremist party". This bold move is supported by an extensive, 1,100-page report that details the party's extremist actions and rhetoric.
The AfD's Hostile Attitude Towards Outsiders
The Verfassungsschutz report reveals that the AfD's top leadership holds a consolidated hostile attitude towards foreigners and minorities, with numerous members making xenophobic, racist, and anti-Muslim statements. Even local members and party leaders like Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla have been documented making such harmful comments.
Extremist Speeches and Actions
The report cites several alarming speeches made by AfD members. In 2023, Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, a state parliamentarian from Saxony-Anhalt, threatened to wage war against the government, stating, "If we have a government that is waging war against us, then we will wage war against this government. We have come to remove these figures from their seats."
Björn Höcke, speaking a year later, dubbed the mainstream political parties as dismantling Germany, comparing their actions to soap dissolving under warm water. He also threatened to shut off the "tap" tomorrow, alluding to harsh measures against immigrants.
Xenophobicviews and Attacks on Democracy
The Verfassungsschutz further highlighted the AfD's xenophobic views, which single out specific population groups, such as migrants and Muslims, as threats to Germany. The party's constant calls for remigration, regardless of its potential overreach in actual numbers, were criticized as misleading.
Additionally, the intelligence agency found that the AfD actively attacked democratic principles, defaming other politicians, and labeling them as traitors or political gangsters. The report also noted numerous instances where AfD politicians compared the government to the Nazi regime or the DDR.
Implications and Responses
The classification as a "confirmed right-wing extremist party" significantly expands the Verfassungsschutz’s powers to monitor the AfD’s activities, including wiretapping and undercover operations. Despite criticism from the AfD, who denounces the classification as politically motivated, it moves the party closer to potential political exclusion, such as loss of public funding or attempts to ban the party entirely.
Even though polls show a significant portion of the German public (48%) favors banning the AfD, critics express concerns over the implications for democratic principles, especially given the party’s substantial voter base (nearly 21% in the latest Bundestag election).
- Domestic intelligence agency
- AfD
- The Verfassungsschutz, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, has documented the AfD as a "confirmed right-wing extremist party" due to their extremist speeches and actions, as well as their xenophobic views and attacks on democracy.
- The AfD's top leadership and several members have been documented making harmful, xenophobic, racist, and anti-Muslim statements, contributing to the party's classification as a right-wing extremist party by the Verfassungsschutz.
- Alarming speeches by AfD members, such as Hans-Thomas Tillschneider's threat to wage war against the government, and Björn Höcke's comparison of mainstream political parties to soap dissolving under warm water, have been cited in the 1,100-page report by the Verfassungsschutz.
- The classification of the AfD as a "confirmed right-wing extremist party" by the Verfassungsschutz expands the agency's powers to monitor the party's activities, including wiretapping and undercover operations, though the AfD denounces the classification as politically motivated.
