Germany’s domestic intelligence service has temporarily withdrawn its recent classification of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a confirmed extremist organization. This decision comes just six days after the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) stated it had gathered "definitive evidence" that the AfD seeks to undermine the country's democratic order.
The BfV informed an administrative court in Cologne that it will suspend the classification while legal proceedings are ongoing. The agency will now monitor the AfD only as a “suspected case,” a designation that still permits surveillance but requires stricter judicial oversight.
This significant reversal follows an urgent legal challenge from the AfD, which accused the outgoing government of orchestrating a politically motivated smear campaign just days before leaving office. In its court filing, the BfV did not provide an explanation for its abrupt change in position.
The BfV's original decision, based on a reported 1,000-page internal analysis, marked a historic first, as no party with full representation in the Bundestag had previously been formally labeled a confirmed right-wing extremist organization. Such a classification would have allowed the BfV to intensify surveillance measures, including the use of informants.
This backtrack is expected to escalate the political debate regarding a potential formal ban on the AfD, which is currently leading in national polls. The party continues to argue that the classification was an attempt to discredit it ahead of the government reshuffle. Party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla stated, “We will keep fighting this in court.”
