Guest post by Drieu Godefridi
On May 2, 2025, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) dealt a resounding blow to the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, officially classifying it as a “proven right-wing extremist”, enabling the German state apparatus to conduct active surveillance, starting with the tapping of its leaders and their private communications. The image of the Stasi springs to mind. This decision marks an escalation in the German elites’ crusade against a political formation that, since its creation in 2013, has consistently upset the established order.
An expected verdict with far-reaching consequences
The AfD’s classification as a right-wing extremist comes as no surprise. For years, the party’s regional federations in Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, as well as its youth organization, the Junge Alternative, had already been labeled as such by the regional offices of the BfV (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz). What’s new is the extension of this classification to the entire party, now deemed “unconstitutional” due to its “contempt for human dignity” and “hostility towards migrants and Muslims” (sic). According to the Office, the AfD’s ideology is incompatible with Germany’s fundamental democratic order. Disturbing detail: the evidence for these allegations is not published by the BfV. In other words, the report is secret. Isn’t it a founding principle of the rule of law that accusations should be made public, so that the accused can respond to them? Here again, the methods of the Stasi come to mind.
This decision comes at a politically sensitive time. In the parliamentary elections of February 2025, the AfD achieved a historic breakthrough, winning over 20% of the vote and coming in second behind the “conservatives” — not so — of the CDU. In recent polls, Alice Weidel’s party has even overtaken the CDU, threatening the hegemony of the traditional parties. This success, particularly marked in the Länder of the former East Germany, reflects a deep-seated dissatisfaction with migration policies, European bureaucracy and the country’s economic management. Yet, far from responding to these concerns through debate, the German establishment has opted for administrative and police repression.
A witch hunt under the guise of democracy
One can’t help but see this decision as a political containment operation. The AfD, with its anti-immigration, eurosceptic and climate-sceptic rhetoric, represents an existential threat to the soft consensus that has dominated Germany for decades. By classifying it as extremist, the BfV is not just monitoring a party; it is sending a clear message: any dissent from the multiculturalist, globalist orthodoxy will be criminalized.
The BfV’s justifications are revealing. The AfD is accused of “devaluing entire groups of the population”, a vague formula that could be applied to any criticism of migration policies. Equally vague and specious, the party is stigmatized for its rejection of the “culture of repentance” towards Germany’s past. The AfD is punished not for what it does, nor its program, but for what it represents – a revolt against “progressive” dogma.
Implications for German democracy
This ranking raises fundamental questions about the future of German democracy. By placing under scrutiny a party that represents one in four voters (26% according to the latest polls), the BfV risks radicalizing its supporters, who already perceive themselves as second-class citizens, particularly in Eastern Germany. As political scientist Wolfgang Schroeder points out, this verdict could paradoxically strengthen the appeal of the AfD, which portrays itself as the victim of an oppressive system
Equally worrying is the debate on a possible ban on the AfD, revived by this decision. Such a measure, which would require a complaint to the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, would be the end of the German democracy. Banning a party as popular and programmatically moderate as the AfD, which has managed to capture the disarray of a broad swathe of the population, would plunge Germany into an unprecedented political crisis. If the German deep state were to ban one of Germany’s leading political parties, what would be left of German democracy?
A lesson for Europe
The AfD affair goes beyond Germany’s borders and sounds a warning for Europe. Across the continent, so-called “populist” parties – from France’s Rassemblement National to Fratelli d’Italia – are gaining ground by exploiting the flaws in a system perceived as out of touch. In Germany, the AfD has turned frustration over the 2015 migration crisis, the war in Ukraine and energy dependency into powerful electoral fuel.
This success of new parties is no accident, but the logical consequence of the betrayal of the people by their “elites”. By imposing unpopular migration policies, ceding national sovereignty to Brussels and stifling debate – energy, gender – under the weight of political correctness, European governments have created a vacuum that parties like the AfD have rushed to fill.
Conclusion: the Stasi state, guardian of democracy?
By brandishing the scarecrow of the Nazi past, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is not protecting democracy, but muzzling it. The surveillance of the AfD, far from being an act of vigilance, is an attempt to disqualify the legitimate opposition. As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denounced, this decision establishes Germany as ‘tyranny in disguise’. In a democracy worthy of the name, ideas – especially shocking ones – must be combated through debate, not administrative arbitrariness.
The stigmatization of the AfD as “right-wing extremist” is less a verdict on the party than an admission of failure by the German elites. By opting for repression rather than democratic debate, these elites are confirming the accusation levelled at the AfD: that of a system that has lost touch with the voice of the people
Can we save democracy by setting fire to its principles?
Drieu Godefridi is a jurist (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain), philosopher (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain) and PhD in legal theory (Paris IV-Sorbonne). He is an entrepreneur, CEO of a European private education group and director of PAN Medias Group. He is the author of The Green Reich (2020).
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