Germany's far-right AfD designated 'extremist' by intelligence agency
The new classification, which gives the agency broader surveillance power over the AfD, is the result of a comprehensive review, the findings of which are laid out in a 1,100-page internal report.
It comes just days before Germany's new conservative-led government is set to take office under future chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The agency, called the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), said there was concrete evidence that the party pursues efforts that threaten Germany's democratic order, pointing to its anti-immigrant rhetoric.
"The party's prevailing understanding of the people based on ethnicity and descent is incompatible with the free democratic basic order," the agency said.
Specifically, it said the far-right AfD considers German citizens with roots in predominantly Muslim countries to be unequal citizens.
The report said it saw evidence of "ongoing agitation" by the party against refugees and migrants, citing statements by AfD politicians in internal communications, speeches and social media, ranging from "deportation creates living space!" to "every foreigner in this country is one too many."
Party under surveillance
Three regional branches of the party - in the eastern states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt - have already been classified as confirmed right-wing extremist organizations.
The national party, which soared to a second-place finish in February's general election, was previously given "suspected" extremist status by the agency. The AfD unsuccessfully challenged that designation in court.
The courts upheld the "suspected" classification in May 2024, allowing the BfV to have the party under surveillance, enabling it proportionate use of party informants, image and sound recordings.
The designation as a "confirmed" right-wing extremist organization lowers the threshold for such surveillance measures.
AfD dismisses decision
The party's co-chairs, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, described the move as a serious blow to democracy.
"The federal government has only four days left in office. The intelligence agency does not even have a president anymore," they wrote in a press statement.
"The associated targeted interference in the democratic decision-making process is therefore clearly politically motivated," Weidel and Chrupalla said, adding that the party would take legal steps.
In later comments, Chrupalla claimed that the agency had not presented any evidence to justify its assessment.
"If one is supposed to correct one's mistakes and would like to do so, then one has of course to know what the specific allegations are," he said.
Outgoing Interior Minister Nancy Faeser earlier emphasized that the BfV's decision was independent and not politically motivated. "There has been no political influence whatsoever on the new report," she said in a statement.
The agency is tasked not only with counter-espionage and investigating terrorist activities, but also with identifying and naming groups that oppose the democratic order - principles that include human dignity, democracy and the rule of law.
Designation sparks discussion over party ban
Surveillance by the BfV has no connection to bans on political parties, which can only be requested from the Constitutional Court by one of Germany's houses of parliament or the government itself.
But with Germany's mainstream parties already grappling with how to treat the AfD opposition during the next legislative period, the new designation has rekindled the debate over banning the party.
Lawmakers from several mainstream parties have already suggested that the classification could be a step in that direction.
Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats (SPD) urged caution, however.
"I am against a hasty decision and will therefore not say that this is what we should do," he said of a potential ban.
Rubio criticizes classification
The new designation also drew attention from abroad, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slamming the move as "tyranny in disguise."
"What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD - which took second in the recent election - but rather the establishment's deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes," he said in a post on X. "Germany should reverse course."
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev also criticized the "strong words" used against a parliamentary party.
"Apparently, the CDU/CSU, SPD and other German party trivia consider those with higher ratings to be extremists," he wrote in a post on X.
Russia has been cultivating ties with the AfD and other far-right parties in Europe for several years. The AfD has repeatedly shown itself friendly towards Russia.
From the fringes
Founded in 2013 as an anti-euro party, the AfD quickly shifted direction as nationalist and far-right figures rose to prominence, prompting many of its original members to depart.
The party gained significant momentum during the 2015 refugee crisis, when hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers entered Germany.
In the 2017 federal election, the AfD emerged as the third-largest party in the lower house of parliament, securing 12.6% of the national vote before dropping to 10.4% in 2021.
It experienced a big rebound in this year's parliamentary election, doubling its support to 20.8% following a campaign that featured open support from tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Despite its nationwide gains, the AfD's strongest support remains concentrated in eastern Germany.
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