As the populist-conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) continues to surge in national polls, the party finds itself again being scrutinised by the German state and its domestic spy agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) in the region of Brandenburg has now declared that the youth wing of the AfD, the Junge Alternative (JA), is to be classified as a right-wing extremist group, which could have huge repercussions for the group in the region, a report from Die Welt notes.
Previously the JA was only considered a “suspected” case, but the announcement this week elevates the group to a new level where it is considered a threat to German democracy and acts contrary to the German constitution, the Basic Law.
Interior Minister Michael Stübgen, a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stated that the JA was a “danger to our youth, our democracy, our freedom and our security,” and claimed the BfV had found multiple and repeated violations of the free democratic order in regards to the group.
Brandenburg’s AfD state chairman Birgit Bessin has stated that the AfD will challenge the classification in court and stated that Interior Minister Stübgen had already claimed in April that he did not have sufficient evidence to declare the youth wing as right-wing extremist.
Earlier this year, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution attempted to declare the JA a right-wing extremist group on a national scale but withdrew the change in classification after the AfD announced it would be challenging the agency in court.
By upgrading the JA to a right-wing extremist group the BfV is able to use various intelligence tools against members of the group, including electronic wiretapping, covert observations, and the use of confidential undercover informants.
“The JA’s understanding of the [German] people, which is clearly evident in its statements and pronouncements, contradicts the understanding of the people expressed in the Basic Law and is capable of excluding members of supposedly other ethnic groups and devaluing German citizens with a migration background as second-class Germans,” the BfV said earlier this year.
The JA, meanwhile, reacted to the move by saying, “The classification of the so-called protection of the constitution does not surprise us.”
“Regardless of whether they are critics of migration, critics of coronavirus measures, or advocates of peace—every form of authentic opposition in this country is systematically stigmatised by this authority,” they said.
The head of the BfV, Thomas Haldenwang, has even personally come out against the AfD, warning German voters not to vote for the party last month.
In an interview with German media, the BfV chief 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.
Haldenwang’s comments were strongly criticised by AfD MP Petr Bystron who said, “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 said.
Stephan Kramer, the head of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) in the east German state of Thuringia went even further last month, slamming AfD voters as “brown dregs” in reference to the official party colour of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), better known as the Nazi Party.
Kramer’s comments came in reaction to polling that shows the AfD at over or around 20%, making it one of the most popular single parties in the entire country.
An Ipsos poll released this week put the AfD at an all-time high of 22%, behind the CDU and its sister party the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) and ahead of the ruling Social Democrats and Greens.
