“Unprecedented abuse of state power”: AfD attacks Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution after extremism classification

Following the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution's decision to classify the entire AfD as confirmed right-wing extremist, the party is now reacting. "This decision by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is bound by its directives, is complete nonsense, has absolutely nothing to do with law and order, and is purely political in the fight of the cartel parties against the AfD," Deputy Federal Chairman Stephan Brandner told the Berliner Zeitung.

According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the reason for its assessment is the "extremist character of the entire party, which disregards human dignity." The agency reached this conclusion "after an intensive and comprehensive expert review." This review took into account, among other things, statements made during the federal election campaign and before the three state elections in eastern Germany.

"The party's prevailing understanding of the people based on ethnicity and descent is incompatible with the free democratic basic order," the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution stated. "Specifically, for example, the AfD does not consider German citizens with a migration history from predominantly Muslim countries to be equal members of the German people, as defined ethnically by the party."

AfD politician Springer: “Unprecedented abuse of state power”

The AfD, in turn, interprets the incident as an attack by its competitors. "The other parties, led by the CDU , CSU , Greens, and SPD , have failed across the board in recent years and driven Germany into the abyss," says Bundestag member Brandner. "If AfD policies had been implemented, we wouldn't have almost all of our problems. The people know this, and that's why they vote for us." The decision by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was therefore "unfortunately expected as a further unfair measure against the sole opposition force."

Until now, the AfD had only been classified nationwide as a "suspected right-wing extremist case." Now the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is going a step further. The previous classification had been upheld by courts "because there were numerous indications of efforts emanating from the AfD against the free democratic basic order," the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution further stated. These indications were "confirmed during further investigation and, in significant parts, consolidated into certainty."

The AfD's Brandenburg state association has been considered a suspected case of right-wing extremist activities since 2020. René Springer, the state chairman of the party, said: "The decision to classify the AfD as 'confirmed right-wing extremist' was made in the final stages by an out-of-government federal government – ​​based on a secret report."

This is "an unprecedented abuse of state power." A federal government that voters have withdrawn their trust is declaring "the largest opposition party an enemy of the state – and at the same time refusing any transparency," Springer told the Berliner Zeitung. "This is an attempt to eliminate democratic competition using intelligence means." (with AFP)