German intelligence to prepare new report on far-right AfD party

BERLIN

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency will prepare a new report on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to examine the extremist tendencies within the party, its chief said on Wednesday.


Thomas Haldenwang, the head of the domestic intelligence agency BfV, told local media that the authorities were increasingly concerned over the growing radicalization among right-wing groups.


"We are seeing a renewed increase in the number of violent right-wing extremists in the country,” he told German news agency DPA, adding that his agency is now working on a new report on the AfD, the largest far-right party in Germany, to examine extremist tendencies within this movement.


According to the BfV’s annual report last year, some 10,200 members of the AfD and its youth wing Junge Alternative had violent intentions and extremist affiliations.


The anti-immigrant party has significantly increased its vote share in Sunday’s European elections, winning a record 15.9% and taking second place ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party.


The AfD has been embroiled in a number of scandals in recent years, including a secret meeting of its senior officials to plan mass expulsion of immigrants, which have raised doubts about the party’s commitment to democratic values.


Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has been monitoring the AfD’s youth wing and various branches since 2021 due to suspected anti-democratic aspirations within the party.


In recent years, prominent members of the party have sparked controversy with their anti-immigrant, antisemitic, and Islamophobic remarks. Critics accuse the AfD of encouraging xenophobia and anti-Muslim racism in Germany.