German police commissioner: AfD membership incompatible with service
Germany's Federal Police Commissioner Uli Grötsch has voiced opposition to police officers being members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, calling it "incompatible" with serving in law enforcement.
"AfD membership and working as a police officer are incompatible," Grötsch told the Rheinische Post newspaper in remarks published late on Monday.
The former Social Democrat (SPD) lawmaker added that officers who demonstrate clear commitment to the AfD should be dismissed. "For me, commitment means openly supporting the party, running for local or city council or even for the Bundestag," he said.
Grötsch pointed to a recent decision by Germany's domestic intelligence agency to classify the AfD as a "confirmed right-wing extremist" organization in early May, saying there was concrete evidence that the party pursued efforts that threaten Germany's free democratic order.
However, the agency then suspended the classification, which would have granted it broader surveillance powers over the party, while the AfD pursues legal action. Pending a ruling from the Cologne administrative court, the agency will continue to treat the party as a "suspected" extremist case.
The anti-immigration AfD is the strongest opposition force in parliament after coming second in February's elections.
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