The populist-conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) has risen to become the second-largest party in recent national polls, ahead of every member of the ruling government coalition, including the Social Democrats, the party of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The increase in popularity has come despite repeated attempts to discredit the party by the German media and party members being targeted by the German domestic spy agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
The head of the BfV, Thomas Haldenwang, has now gone even further by directly warning Germans not to vote for the AfD, claiming the party had elements within it that were against the German constitution, a report from Der Spiegel magazine states.
During an interview with broadcaster ZDF, Haldenwang said,
We actually see strong currents in the AfD that act anti-constitutionally. And this is particularly about hatred and agitation against minorities of all kinds, minorities, migrants, Muslims, but also people with a different sexual orientation.
This makes it all the more important that we educate people about this party and its aspirations, about what constitutes the danger of this party for our democracy, for our liberal basic order … The fight for our democracy must be waged in society as a whole.
AfD member of the German Bundestag Petr Bystron spoke exclusively to The European Conservative on Haldenwang’s comments saying, “In his latest comments on public TV, Haldenwang dropped the mask off his face. He publicly admitted that he is trying to discredit the AfD.”
“It confirms that this secret service, which is led by the Interior Ministry, is being used for the oppression of the opposition in Germany,” he added.
Haldenwang took over as head of the BfV in 2018, replacing the former chief Hans-Georg Maassen after the latter had been sacked by the previous government headed by former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Maassen was relieved of his duties after he countered claims of “migrant hunts” during protests in the city of Chemnitz that year that was in reaction to the killing of local Daniel Hillig, who was stabbed to death by Syrian asylum seeker Alaa Sheikhi.
The former BfV head was also accused of having sympathies for the AfD by former government spokesman Steffen Seibert.
Since the appointment of Haldenwang, the BfV has shifted gears in its approach to the AfD, placing many members under observation in 2019, including firebrand Thuringia leader Björn Höcke and the party’s entire youth wing, the Junge Alternative (JA).
Haldenwang stated at the time that members of the JA had “clear evidence of an anti-immigration and particularly anti-Muslim attitude,” and the BfV added that it planned to keep the entire party as a ”subject of investigation.”
The comments from the spy chief come just weeks after a prominent government-funded think tank called for the AfD to be banned outright.
The German Institute for Human Rights claimed the AfD wishes to “eliminate the free democratic basic order,” and went on to state, “It aims to abolish the guarantee of human dignity enshrined in Article 1 (1) of the Basic Law.”
While the next German Federal election is set to take place on or before October 26th, 2025, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel expressed confidence that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) would not reject some form of cooperation with the AfD going forward.
Weidel called the current CDU ban on cooperation with the AfD “unsustainable” and argued that its current head Friedrich Merz would not be able to maintain the ban.
“This is a course that is unsustainable. And this course will make the AfD by far the strongest force,” Weidel said this week, speaking of the eastern regions in Germany, where the AfD has their strongest support.
Weidel also defended Björn Höcke against the accusations from the BfV and Haldenwang saying, “Mr. Höcke is not a right-wing extremist.”
