A court in Germany is set to rule this week on whether the anti-globalist, anti-immigration party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) can be designated as a suspected extremist organisation, in what is seen as another attempt to delegitimise the party which is riding high in the polls amid voter disenchantment with the policies of the left-liberal coalition government.
The court in Münster is holding hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 12th and 13th, after the AfD challenged a 2021 lower court ruling that placed it under investigation as a suspected right-wing extremist party. If the higher court upholds the decision, the domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, will retain the right to spy on the AfD, using intelligence tools such as tapping phones, reading emails, or recruiting informants from inside the party.
The AfD’s deputy federal chairman Stephan Brandner, a Thuringian member of the Bundestag, is convinced that he is constantly being bugged. He told conservative publication Junge Freiheit: “I think my offices and home are bugged. But let them listen to us all day long: we don’t say anything that is incompatible with the fundamental values of our constitution.” He added that it is annoying that their political opponents are always informed about their political activities, which gives them a significant competitive advantage.
The court case comes on the heels of a February ruling where an administrative court in Cologne classified the youth wing of the party, Junge Alternative, as a “proven right-wing extremist” group. This allows for increased surveillance of the group and its members’ activities. According to media reports, the BfV—which operates under the supervision and direction of the interior minister—is already preparing a dossier to use as a basis for which to justify the classification of the entire AfD as “proven right-wing extremist.” Three regional branches of the party in Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt have already been formally declared extremist threats.
The rise of the AfD has alarmed the political establishment which is hastily trying to come up with all sorts of ways to fight off the party, with some mainstream politicians even going as far as calling for the party to be banned. Critics say that the country’s institutions are being weaponised to persecute a political opponent supported by many millions of German voters who are disillusioned with the ruling elite. The AfD is currently the second most popular party in Germany with around 20% support. It will likely become the largest force in three Eastern states—Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia—which are holding state elections this autumn.
