Germany - May 2025

On 2 May, Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) officially classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD)—which placed second in the 2025 federal elections—as a ‘right-wing extremist’ party. In response, the AfD filed a lawsuit against the BfV. Until a final ruling by the court, the BfV is putting its official reclassification on hold. If upheld, the designation grants authorities expanded surveillance powers at a national level. It could also end the party’s state funding and allow for the exclusion of its members from the civil service—but would not affect the AfD’s presence in the Bundestag. The BfV report asserts that the AfD’s ethnicity- and ancestry-based view of society is incompatible with the free democratic order. It also points to statements by party officials that are ’xenophobic, anti-minority, Islamophobic, and anti-Muslim.’ AfD has already been classified as extremist in the states of Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.

Sources: Deutsche Welle (1), Deutsche  Welle (2), Tagesschau (1), Tagesschau (2), International IDEA (1), International IDEA (2), Financial Times