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Irish Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
German intelligence service report on AfD faces claims of political interference
A week ago, Germany 's domestic intelligence service (BfV) presented the outgoing federal government with a 1,108-page report classifying Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a 'guaranteed far-right' political party. Not any more: a week on, after the AfD filed an injunction, the BfV has set aside this classification temporarily until a court ruling, shifting attention away from damaging claims against the party to claims of political interference in the BfV report, how it was compiled and issued. On May 2nd, after nearly four years of work, the report was accepted – but not published – as one of the last official acts of outgoing federal interior minister Nancy Faeser. In an accompanying press statement – since deleted from its website – the BfV said the AfD and its politics were 'incompatible' with Germany's 'free democratic order', in particular because of its 'ongoing' agitation against refugees and migrants. READ MORE The intelligence agency declined to release the report, claiming that doing so would reveal key elements of its investigation. That in turn has prompted the AfD, joint first in national opinion polls with 25 per cent support, to launch legal action against what it views as a smear campaign by political rivals. [ Derek Scally: Far-right AfD looks to broaden its base Opens in new window ] Despite the BfV pause, leaked extracts suggest the report is largely an extensive compilation of public remarks by about 300 party officials – either at rallies or in online posts. Given this, an unnamed BfV official told the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily that many in the agency doubted the report would stand up in court. On Friday the Bild tabloid presented five key accusations, drawing on extracts from the report's seven chapters: claims that the AfD discriminates against non-white people; rejects non-ethnic German citizens; represents Islamophobic positions; undermines the legitimacy of the state; and plays down Nazi-era crimes. The report quotes AfD MP Maximilian Krah from January 2024 saying that 'whoever takes Afghans and Africans into the government makes the government culturally more African and Afghan'. Other politicians complain about 'passport Germans', discuss the 'genetic make-up of living things' and urge voters, in a social media post: 'Don't let us GERMANS be robbed of our PRIDE and HONOUR'. The BfV rates such political remarks as indicative of a party that views a population as an 'ethnic-cultural collective, exclusionary of people with a migration background. This violates the [constitutional] principle of human dignity.' On Islam, the BfV report cites party officials' claims of a Muslim takeover plan to 'undermine and enslave us' as proof of a 'sweeping degradation and criminalisation of the entire Muslim faith community'. Other quotes cited by Bild draw parallels between the Nazi dictatorship and modern Germany, claiming 'the Berlin republic is moving in the direction of totalitarianism'. In its summary the intelligence agency says it 'doesn't expect' moderate forces in the party can halt the AfD's slide towards an 'unconstitutional organisation'. High legal hurdles must be cleared before a party can be classified as extremist, allowing intelligence services step up surveillance of party members and communications – and deploy, or recruit, informers within party ranks. Germany's new federal interior minister Alexander Dobrindt has admitted he has yet to read the report but said it was likely to contain sensitive information from intelligence activities. Despite this he promised 'not to put it in a cupboard' and publish as much of the report as possible. It is no longer certain that this will happen. On Friday AfD leader Alice Weidel said she was confident their legal action would be successful, ensuring the BfV report would never see the light of day. On Twitter/X she wrote: 'We are fighting with all legal means.'
New European
06-05-2025
- Politics
- New European
Germansplaining: The AfD extremists
This was the kind of bureaucratic bombshell that comes with footnotes, will lead to court rulings, help the AfD to self-identify as a political martyr and cause controversy in Friedrich Merz's new coalition. Last week, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesverfassungsschutz, made official what most people with functioning moral compasses have long believed. The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is officially categorised as a right wing extremist organisation. Not just in three Eastern Bundesländer, as they were before, but nationwide. The decision was made public only days before interior minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), whom the Verfassungsschutz answers to, left office for good. Her successor, Bavarian conservative Alexander Dobrindt, will now have to deal with the consequences of this difficult parting gift. You can call it a constitutional minefield. Happy first day at the office, mate. Now, the AfD have had this coming. The party has been under surveillance officially and unofficially in several states and their radicalisation over the past few years has been about as subtle as a German oompah-oompah band in an Indian yoga retreat. The report, which is still confidential, draws on information from 2021-2025 – and its publication was timed for after the federal election, because otherwise the cry of 'political interference' may have caused more harm for the general trust in institutions than to AfD. But it wasn't communicated well. In a briefing to journalists (the courts, which the AfD will certainly turn to, tend to not like that kind of thing at all) the decision was justified by the party's 'prevailing ethnic and descent-based understanding of the Volk', which is 'not compatible with the free democratic basic order.' According to the Verfassungsschutz, it 'aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, to discriminate against them and therefore not to treat them as equals in legal terms.' The AfD also cultivates an 'exclusionary understanding of the Volk', the report says. To document this, domestic intelligence draws upon terms used by AfD members such as 'Passdeutsche' (meaning they 'only' have a passport, but aren't proper Germans), 'Großer Austausch' (great replacement), 'Umvolkung' (ethnic replacement) and 'Messermigranten' (knife migrants). As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Kriegsende, Germany is proud of its rule of law: the Verfassungsschutz has a legal mandate and it doesn't throw accusations around lightly. Given the significance of labelling the largest opposition party 'extremist', however, you'd think someone might have come up with more than a meagre press release and to hand out an English version of it, too. And considering that only very few people have actually read the roughly 1,100-page report by an executive agency, the demands to 'ban AfD now' by trade unions, the Green Party and parts of the SPD are premature. Which is why the political centre right is guarded, although the CDU/CSU, too, is discussing what the consequences of this new ruling should be. If upheld by the courts, it opens the door to serious surveillance powers – think wiretaps, undercover agents, and the full democratic-defence toolkit, potentially used against high-ranking members of the parliamentary opposition. Note: Members of the Linke, a party considered far left extremist in some states, have successfully sued against such measures. Another tricky question is how to deal with civil servants, police officers, members of the army or the judiciary who are AfD members. Under German law, state employees must be loyal to the democratic constitution. Being a card-carrying member of an officially extremist party isn't exactly a confidence-booster – on the other hand, every individual case has to be treated, well, individually. So sacking a teacher because of his membership alone isn't likely to happen. The legal, ethical, and bureaucratic consequences are still being debated – fiercely. In the latest representative survey, 61% consider the AfD to be an extreme right wing party, 31% do not. And in addition, 48% of respondents are in favour of a ban, while 37% are against. Banning the AfD altogether is legally conceivable, in theory, but politically combustible. The hurdles are sky-high, and the potential backlash even higher. As tempting as the dream of an AfD-free Bundestag may be, banning the party wouldn't make the anger and fear that fuel it disappear. The only sustainable way to reduce voters' support is through competent, visible, effective governance.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany: Outsourcing asylum checks outside EU 'possible in principle'
Outsourcing asylum procedures to countries outside the European Union would theoretically be possible, but not very easy to implement in practice, according to the results of an assessment by Germany's Interior Ministry which were published on Sunday. The ministry considered three options for the so-called third country approach, namely a Rwanda Model, an Albania Model and an Away Model. The United Kingdom's Rwanda Model envisaged transferring asylum seekers to another country – in this case Rwanda – where they would then go through an asylum procedure. It has since been scrapped. Italy developed the Albania Model calling for certain boat migrants to be housed in Albanian camps until a decision was made on their asylum applications. This has been blocked by several Italian court rulings. Lastly the Away Model would see a request for protection is examined in a transit country before someone reaches European soil. "All models appear to be legally possible in principle, in some cases after significant legal changes," but in practical terms they are associated with considerable difficulties in some cases, the report concludes. Applying third-country models to a large number of asylum seekers is "unrealistic," the ministry said in a statement. This also applies if the link between the asylum seeker and the third country – such as family ties or previous residence in that country – which was previously provided for in the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is removed at the European level. "Cooperation with third countries can be another building block in limiting irregular migration," Germany's acting Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said. However, the experience of the United Kingdom showed "that such attempts can also incur immense costs and fail across the board." This must be taken into account in a realistic assessment. British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has indicated that the asylum pact concluded with Rwanda by the former Conservative government has cost taxpayers more than £700 million (approximately $929 million). The new Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer overturned the asylum pact.
Straits Times
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
German minister expects sharp fall in asylum seekers this year
FILE PHOTO: German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser speaks during a session of the lower house of parliament Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, January 31, 2025. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen/File Photo BERLIN - The number of asylum seekers in Germany is expected to hit its lowest level in more than a decade this year, outgoing interior minister Nancy Faeser told newspapers on Sunday. "If irregular migration continues to be reduced as sharply as we have managed to do in the last two years, then the number of asylum seekers in Germany could reach around 100,000 this year," Faeser told the newspapers of Funke media group. According to the federal migration office, the last time there were fewer than 100,000 asylum applications was in 2012. In 2024, there were just under 251,000 applications, compared with around 352,000 the previous year. Faeser's successor, Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative CSU, has promised to ramp up border controls and increase the number of people rejected at the border shortly after taking office next week. "Illegal migration numbers must come down," Dobrindt told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. According to the newspaper, several thousand additional officials will be sent to support federal police at the borders, while monitoring of border regions, including from the air, will be stepped up as part of Dobrindt's planned measures. Germany's new government has vowed to take a tougher stance on migration in a bid to reduce support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has capitalised on public frustration over border security. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
German minister expects sharp fall in asylum seekers this year
FILE PHOTO: German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser speaks during a session of the lower house of parliament Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, January 31, 2025. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of asylum seekers in Germany is expected to hit its lowest level in more than a decade this year, outgoing interior minister Nancy Faeser told newspapers on Sunday. "If irregular migration continues to be reduced as sharply as we have managed to do in the last two years, then the number of asylum seekers in Germany could reach around 100,000 this year," Faeser told the newspapers of Funke media group. According to the federal migration office, the last time there were fewer than 100,000 asylum applications was in 2012. In 2024, there were just under 251,000 applications, compared with around 352,000 the previous year. Faeser's successor, Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative CSU, has promised to ramp up border controls and increase the number of people rejected at the border shortly after taking office next week. "Illegal migration numbers must come down," Dobrindt told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. According to the newspaper, several thousand additional officials will be sent to support federal police at the borders, while monitoring of border regions, including from the air, will be stepped up as part of Dobrindt's planned measures. Germany's new government has vowed to take a tougher stance on migration in a bid to reduce support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has capitalised on public frustration over border security. (Reporting by Holger Hansen, Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Giles Elgood)
