In a move that may have explosive political consequences, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has concluded that the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is “a confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor.”
This finding is based on the BfV’s conclusion that the AfD’s “prevailing understanding of the people based on ethnicity and descent is incompatible with the free democratic basic order.” The AfD seeks to exclude certain groups from equal participation in society and government, particularly immigrants or descendants of immigrants from Muslim countries, says the German agency.
“Decisive for our assessment is the AfD’s ethnic-based understanding of the people, which devalues entire population groups in Germany and violates their human dignity,” says the press release. “This understanding of the people is reflected in the party’s overall anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim stance.”