Germany moves to monitor political opposition for ‘democracy’
The German government will place its main political opposition under surveillance and is considering banning the party altogether after declaring it racist.
Crackdown on the AfD Party
On Friday, Germany’s spy agency BfV classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as “extremist” and “anti-Muslim.” AfD, a Right-wing party, campaigns on stricter immigration policies that would restrict the influx of migrants, including Muslim migrants that Germany’s ruling factions have been welcoming for decades. AfD has become increasingly popular in Germany, gaining more seats than the government’s Social Democrats party in EU parliamentary elections last year.
With the rise of AfD’s popularity, the government has increased its attacks on the party. The Scholz administration has repeatedly branded the AfD party “extreme” and “racist” and accused them of “neo-Nazism.” These allegations, along with the BfV’s previous designation of AfD as a party “suspected” of extremism, have been used to justify spying on AfD members, denying them firearm permits, and arresting party members. In 2023, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was among those who called for a ban on AfD. Accusations of “racism” by the Scholz government and German media have led to AfD politicians being beaten, nearly assassinated, and forced into hiding.
A new designation of ‘extremism’
The spy agency’s official designation of AfD as “extremist” can provide legal justification for it to recruit informants and intercept the party’s communications, Reuters reported.
"Central to our assessment is the ethnically and ancestrally defined concept of the people that shapes the AfD, which devalues entire segments of the population in Germany and violates their human dignity," the BfV said in a statement. "This concept is reflected in the party’s overall anti-migrant and anti-Muslim stance," the agency added.
The AfD is now facing renewed calls for a ban, though there are still legal steps the government must take to implement it. If the Scholz administration succeeds in obtaining a court ruling that AfD aims to overthrow democracy, it would be able to limit or halt public funding for the party. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s own rhetoric indicates that the government is moving in this direction. In February, after Vice President JD Vance publicly criticized the German government’s persecution of AfD, Scholz responded by saying: “Germany is a very strong democracy, and as a strong democracy, we are absolutely clear that the extreme Right should be out of political control and out of political decision-making processes, and that there will be no cooperation with them,” the chancellor said. "We really reject any idea of cooperation between parties, other parties and this extreme Right parties.”
Secretary Rubio: ‘Germany should reverse course’
Following the BfV’s designation of AfD on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly criticized the German government.
“Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition,” Rubio wrote in an X post. “That’s not democracy – it’s tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD – which took second in the recent election – but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes. Germany should reverse course.”
‘This is democracy,’ says Scholz administration
The German government responded to Rubio’s post by claiming it is defending democracy: “This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”
In March, Scholz made similar remarks to attendees at the World Economic Forum’s Davos summit.
"We have the freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany. Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire,” Scholz said, referring to billionaire Elon Musk’s support for AfD. “And what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme-Right positions.”
Also Germany: Banning political opposition is not democracy
In August 2024, the German government criticized Thailand for banning its political opposition, which it said is a “severe setback for Democracy.”
“#Thailand : Today's ban on the largest opposition party @MFPThailand is a severe setback for democracy,” Germany’s Federal Foreign Office posted on X. “It is important that [Thailand] remains committed to pluralism and that all democratic parties can freely exercise their electoral mandate.”
