So far it is a suspected case, but the entire AfD could soon be classified as “certain extremist”. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been working on a new report for months.
According to a media report, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is working on a new report on the classification of the AfD. Accordingly, the entire party could be classified as a “secure extremist effort”.
So far, the AfD has only been listed as a so-called suspected case of right-wing extremism. But according to research by the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), a team from the Federal Office has been working on the new report for months. In its report, the newspaper relies on internal emails and notes from the domestic secret service.
Current report is already three years old
The currently valid report from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution on the radicalism of the AfD dates from spring 2021. According to the Süddeutscher Zeitung, internal emails from the Federal Office have been talking about an “AfD follow-up report 2023” since March 2023 at the latest, which is being worked on.
A first draft of the structure was circulated in the authority last April. The document apparently lists the well-known criticism of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of racism and authoritarianism in the AfD. Under the heading “Development of the party since March 2022” it also contains a new point: “Relationship with Russia”.
New report apparently slowed down because of AfD lawsuit
According to the schedule, the new report should actually be ready in December 2023. According to information from the SZ, a corresponding internal agreement was approved last May by the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, and his deputy, Sinan Selen.
Only the judiciary apparently slowed down this schedule. The Münster Higher Administrative Court, which still has to decide on the AfD’s appeal against its “suspected case” status, has repeatedly postponed its hearing in the matter and has now finally set it for March.
According to the SZ, internal emails say that the court’s expected “considerations” should be “taken into account as far as possible” in the new AfD report. According to the SZ, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution still wants to be able to react if the court has unexpected, new questions. However, if everything remains the same and that the judiciary fundamentally agrees with the Office for the Protection of the Constitution – as it did in the first instance before the Cologne Administrative Court in spring 2022 – nothing would stand in the way of the new report.
When asked by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution did not want to comment on the report.
Three regional associations and JA “secured right-wing extremist”
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution already lists the AfD regional associations in Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt as definitely right-wing extremist. The youth organization, Junge Alternative (JA), can also be classified this way. At the beginning of February, the JA failed with an urgent application against the classification before the Cologne Administrative Court. However, the decision is not yet legally binding.
Philip Brost, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, February 26, 2024 6:17 a.m