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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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Alliance for Germany (AfD) has been declared a "proven right-wing extremist endeavor" and "not compatible" with a free democracy by Germany's domestic intelligence agency, unlocking new surveillance powers to keep tabs on the party.
AfD, which wants to see large-scale deportations, has repeatedly denied that it is an extremist group and says it is representing the views of most Germans on issues like mass immigration, Islam, and traditional Christian values.
Why it Matters
The party, endorsed by American billionaire Elon Musk, came second in Germany's recent elections. It was previously suspected of having extremist tendencies, but the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said this is now confirmed.
Read More on World
Germany's history with the Nazi Party makes it acutely sensitive to far-right extremism. But voter discontent with mass migration from Muslim-majority countries, and the experience of recent terror attacks, is helping to fuel a far-right resurgence.
What to Know
The BfV, which has warned of growing extremism in Germany, cited court decisions in two German regions in recent years that detailed party efforts to undermine a free and democratic order.
"The prevailing understanding of ethnicity and descent in the party is not compatible with the free democratic basic order," the BfV said.
"It aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, to expose them to unequal treatment that is not in conformity with the constitution and thus to assign them a legally devalued status.
"Specifically, the AfD, for example, does not consider German citizens with a migration history from Muslim countries to be equal members of the German people ethnically defined by the party."
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The BfV said this "exclusionary understanding is the starting point and ideological basis for continuous agitation against certain persons or groups of people".
The party had already come under scrutiny from the BfV for its links to extremists and its ties to Russia. Of the 38,800 far-right extremists counted by the agency last year, more than 10,000 are members of the party.
Under the latest move, any surveillance of AfD activities must abide by a "principle of proportionality" under German law.
The measure does not amount to a ban of the party, which can only take place through a request by either of parliament's two chambers or the federal government through the Federal Constitutional Court.
What People Are Saying
AfD called the BfV's decision "a severe blow to German democracy," noting that the government would change over in a few days after the most recent election, and that the spy agency did not currently have a president.
"Nevertheless, the AfD, as an opposition party, is now being publicly discredited and criminalized shortly before the change in government," said the statement by AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla.
"This deliberate interference in the democratic process of forming political will is clearly politically motivated. The AfD will continue to legally challenge these defamatory actions that endanger democracy."
Nancy Faeser, the German interior minister, said in a statement that the classification was "clear and unambiguous" and had resulted from a 1,100-page "comprehensive and neutral audit" that had no political influence.
What's Next
AfD could appeal the decision in Germany's courts. It likely now faces deeper scrutiny from German intelligence.
But it will not form part of the next German government after the other parties agreed to form a coalition that will shut the AfD out, despite its finishing in second place.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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