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Germany’s intelligence agency has designated the right-wing AfD party as “extremist.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz cautioned against a hasty ban of the right-wing AfD party on Friday.
Earlier that day, the BfV issued a comprehensive report classifying the AfD as “extremist,” citing racist anti-immigrant rhetoric and indications of anti-democratic activities. This designation could lead to a ban and increased surveillance of the AfD, similar to extremist groups like Islamic State.
“I think this is something that cannot be rushed into,” Scholz stated regarding an outright ban of the AfD.
He also noted that Germany’s “Federal Constitutional Court has rejected all recent applications for bans.”
Scholz referenced previous unsuccessful attempts to outlaw the NDP as an example of potential legal challenges in banning the AfD.
The NDP faced years of attempts to ban it, eventually rebranding as The Homeland in 2023. The party did not participate in the 2025 elections.
The AfD, which has recently gained popularity in polls, has denounced the BfV report as a “severe blow to German democracy.”
“The AfD is the strongest party in current polls… Nevertheless, the AfD, as an opposition party, is now being publicly discredited and criminalized shortly before the change of government,” AfD leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla jointly stated.
A Forsa poll from the previous month showed the AfD surpassing Friedrich Merz’s CDU as the most popular party in Germany.