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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| German spy agency labels AfD as ‘confirmed rightwing extremist’ force | German spy agency labels AfD as ‘confirmed rightwing extremist’ force |
| (33 minutes later) | |
| Upgrade from ‘suspected’ threat will mean greater surveillance of party that came second in last election | Upgrade from ‘suspected’ threat will mean greater surveillance of party that came second in last election |
| Germany’s domestic intelligence service has designated the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), the biggest opposition party, as a “confirmed rightwing extremist” force, meaning authorities can step up their surveillance as critics call for it to be legally banned. | Germany’s domestic intelligence service has designated the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), the biggest opposition party, as a “confirmed rightwing extremist” force, meaning authorities can step up their surveillance as critics call for it to be legally banned. |
| The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) previously considered the anti-immigrant, pro-Kremlin party a “suspected” threat to Germany’s democratic order, with three of its regional chapters in eastern statesand its youth wing classed as confirmed extremist. | The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) previously considered the anti-immigrant, pro-Kremlin party a “suspected” threat to Germany’s democratic order, with three of its regional chapters in eastern statesand its youth wing classed as confirmed extremist. |
| The AfD, which came second in the February general election with just over 20% of the vote, said it would challenge the BfV’s decision in court. | The AfD, which came second in the February general election with just over 20% of the vote, said it would challenge the BfV’s decision in court. |
| The BfV said it had concluded that racist and anti-Muslim stances advanced by the AfD, based on an “ethnic-ancestry-based understanding” of German identity, were “incompatible with the free democratic basic order” set out in the country’s constitution. | The BfV said it had concluded that racist and anti-Muslim stances advanced by the AfD, based on an “ethnic-ancestry-based understanding” of German identity, were “incompatible with the free democratic basic order” set out in the country’s constitution. |
| It added that the party “aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, to subject them to unconstitutional unequal treatment and thus to assign them a legally devalued status”. | It added that the party “aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, to subject them to unconstitutional unequal treatment and thus to assign them a legally devalued status”. |
| The decision will clear the way for tougher measures to monitor the party for suspected illegal activity, including tapping telephone communications, observing its meetings and recruiting secret informants. | The decision will clear the way for tougher measures to monitor the party for suspected illegal activity, including tapping telephone communications, observing its meetings and recruiting secret informants. |
| The AfD is led by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, who have called for the “remigration” of people they deemed to be “poorly integrated”, including German citizens with roots abroad. | The AfD is led by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, who have called for the “remigration” of people they deemed to be “poorly integrated”, including German citizens with roots abroad. |
| In a joint statement, Weidel and Chrupalla called the BfV’s decision “politcally motivated” and a “severe blow against Germany’s federal democracy”. | In a joint statement, Weidel and Chrupalla called the BfV’s decision “politcally motivated” and a “severe blow against Germany’s federal democracy”. |
| They said: “The AfD will continue to defend itself legally against these defamatory statements that endanger democracy.” | They said: “The AfD will continue to defend itself legally against these defamatory statements that endanger democracy.” |
| The party has faced growing calls from opponents for it to be outlawed on the grounds that it seeks to undermine democratic values, including protection of minority rights. Such a ban can be sought by either house of parliament – the Bundestag or the Bundesrat – or by the government itself. | The party has faced growing calls from opponents for it to be outlawed on the grounds that it seeks to undermine democratic values, including protection of minority rights. Such a ban can be sought by either house of parliament – the Bundestag or the Bundesrat – or by the government itself. |
| The German parliament may use the BfV decision to justify an attempt to cut or block public funding for the party. | |
| But Olaf Scholz, the outgoing Social Democrat chancellor, warned against rushing to outlaw the AfD. Some opponents of a ban say it could backfire and help promote a victim narrative within the party. | But Olaf Scholz, the outgoing Social Democrat chancellor, warned against rushing to outlaw the AfD. Some opponents of a ban say it could backfire and help promote a victim narrative within the party. |
| Next week, Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union leader, will be sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor, after his conservative bloc won February’s snap election. However, his party has lost ground since the vote, with several recent polls showing the AfD in first place. | Next week, Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union leader, will be sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor, after his conservative bloc won February’s snap election. However, his party has lost ground since the vote, with several recent polls showing the AfD in first place. |
| Merz will lead a centre-right government with the Social Democrats. Their coalition agreement bars any explicit or tacit cooperation with the AfD, a policy that all the mainstream parties have called a critical “firewall” to protect German democracy. | Merz will lead a centre-right government with the Social Democrats. Their coalition agreement bars any explicit or tacit cooperation with the AfD, a policy that all the mainstream parties have called a critical “firewall” to protect German democracy. |
| However, Merz has faced calls from within his party to treat the AfD as a normal opposition force in order to prevent it casting itself as a political martyr. | |
| Merz himself faced fierce criticism in January for accepting AfD support for motions in parliament to restrict migration, which Scholz before the election branded an “unforgivable mistake”. | Merz himself faced fierce criticism in January for accepting AfD support for motions in parliament to restrict migration, which Scholz before the election branded an “unforgivable mistake”. |
| The AfD won a record number of seats in the election, theoretically entitling it to chair several key parliamentary committees. However, the BfV’s decision could make other parties less willing to lend their support for such an outcome. | |
| Analysts say the new government will have a limited window to win back voters’ trust or risk the AfD winning outright at the next general election, planned for 2029. | |
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| The party, which has about 51,000 members, has made strong gains over the last year on the back of voter frustration with immigration policy and an ailing economy. | The party, which has about 51,000 members, has made strong gains over the last year on the back of voter frustration with immigration policy and an ailing economy. |
| It came first in Thuringia’s regional election in September, marking the first time since the Nazi period that a far-right party had won a state poll. In the same month, it also performed well in two other former communist regions. | It came first in Thuringia’s regional election in September, marking the first time since the Nazi period that a far-right party had won a state poll. In the same month, it also performed well in two other former communist regions. |
| After active endorsement by Elon Musk during the campaign, the AfD achieved the best national result for a hard-right party in Germany since the second world war. | After active endorsement by Elon Musk during the campaign, the AfD achieved the best national result for a hard-right party in Germany since the second world war. |
| The Cologne-based BfV based its decision on a 1,100-page report that was presented to the interior ministry this week. | The Cologne-based BfV based its decision on a 1,100-page report that was presented to the interior ministry this week. |
| The report outlined the party’s efforts to erode democracy, including inciting hostility toward asylum seekers and migrants and viewing German citizens “with a background of migration from predominantly Muslim countries” as inferior. | The report outlined the party’s efforts to erode democracy, including inciting hostility toward asylum seekers and migrants and viewing German citizens “with a background of migration from predominantly Muslim countries” as inferior. |
| Political analysts and security authorities say the AfD, which was founded 12 years ago by a group of Eurosceptic professors, has become more radicalised with each change in leadership, and particularly when the country faced an influx of refugees in 2015-16. | Political analysts and security authorities say the AfD, which was founded 12 years ago by a group of Eurosceptic professors, has become more radicalised with each change in leadership, and particularly when the country faced an influx of refugees in 2015-16. |
| Benjamin Winkler, of the anti-extremist Amadeu Antonio Foundation, welcomed the BfV’s decision, blaming the AfD for increasing the influence of radical groups while stoking racist and anti-migrant sentiment in the wider population. | |
| “We see it in the large number of reports about attacks, and in police data about the record number of rightwing extremist crimes in Germany,” he told the news channel n-tv. | |
| The AfD also calls repeatedly for a break with Germany’s culture of historical remembrance of the Holocaust, using thinly veiled Nazi slogans, which are outlawed in Germany. | |
| In an online chat with Musk in January, Weidel referred to Adolf Hitler as a communist. | In an online chat with Musk in January, Weidel referred to Adolf Hitler as a communist. |