Overview

• The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has officially classified the AfD as a 'proven right-wing extremist endeavor,' marking the highest level of extremism designation in Germany's classification system.
• The decision is based on a 1,000-page internal report documenting violations of human dignity, the rule of law, and democratic principles, including the party's exclusionary ethnically-defined concept of the 'Volk.'
• This classification lowers the threshold for intelligence methods, such as deploying informants and conducting surveillance, to monitor the AfD’s activities.
• The reclassification has reignited discussions about a potential party ban, which would require a formal request from the Bundestag, Bundesrat, or federal government and approval by the Constitutional Court.
• The AfD leadership has criticized the designation as politically motivated and is expected to challenge it in court, continuing an ongoing legal battle over its classification.