From the point of view of the protection of the constitution, the AfD is now steering almost unchecked towards the far right. “We hardly notice any more forces that are trying to oust the extremist tendencies from the party,” said the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, in an interview with the German Press Agency. In this context, he also referred to the resignations of former AfD chairman Jörg Meuthen and member of the Bundestag Joana Cotar.
In addition, it was observed this year that “right-wing extremists like Björn Höcke have had a strong influence on the party”. Although Höcke was not able to push through all of his “völkisch-oriented proposals” at the federal party conference in June, “he was clearly driving the party ahead of him”.
In March 2021, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist – an assessment that was confirmed by the Administrative Court of Cologne around a year later. The party is defending itself legally. The proceedings at the Higher Administrative Court in Münster are still ongoing.
In the case of a suspected case, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution usually checks after about two years whether the suspicion has been confirmed or not. In the case of the AfD, it is not to be expected that this decision will be made before the conclusion of the court proceedings. “Without making a prognosis regarding our next test, a certain trend can currently be seen: it’s going further to the right,” said the dpa’s president for the protection of the constitution.
Reluctance to use informants
The classification as a suspected case already enables his authority to use intelligence resources. This includes, among other things, the observation and obtaining information about informants from the respective scene. When using such informants, however, people are now very cautious and cautious as far as parties are concerned. Because the first of two unsuccessful ban procedures against the right-wing extremist NPD was discontinued in 2003 because of the numerous informants that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution also had in the leadership of the party.
The fact that “right-wing extremist currents” in the AfD are steadily gaining in importance is obvious even without such methods, emphasized Haldenwang. He said: “I don’t need to talk so much about the results of our intelligence efforts, even what can be perceived with public funds confirms this assessment.” However, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution observed differences between the various levels of the party. At the federal level, one tends to avoid clear right-wing extremist statements, “but the deeper one looks into the party structures, the more visible the xenophobic, anti-Semitic, nationalistic and human dignity-violating statements become.”
With a view to the most recent arrests in the “Reichsbürger” scene, the head of the domestic secret service explained that it was worrying how quickly this association had managed to network nationwide. The “heterogeneous mixed scene” that can be observed here includes so-called “Reichsbürger” and self-governors, in some cases also right-wing extremists, active or former AfD members, supporters of various conspiracy narratives and people who belong to the new phenomenon area “delegitimization of the constitutional protection relevant to the constitutional protection”. State” are to be attributed. “The unifying force of the actors is the rejection and overcoming of the system of the Federal Republic of Germany,” stated Haldenwang.
“Reichsbürger” debated triggers for Day X
The federal prosecutor’s office had 25 people arrested in a major raid on December 7th. She accuses 22 of them of being a member of a terrorist organization that wanted to overthrow the political system. The other three are about support. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, there have been 54 suspects in the process so far. Among those arrested is the judge and former AfD member of the Bundestag Birgit Malsack-Winkemann. Disciplinary proceedings initiated by the Berlin Regional Court are now underway against them.
Haldenwang said he expected other people to be identified who could be attributed to the group. It would be an exaggeration to speak of the proverbial tip of the iceberg here. However, the investigation suggested that there were other parties involved.
The group discussed internally what should trigger the coup on so-called Day X, Haldenwang reported. Some would have waited for a natural event, others for the escalation of a military conflict. Still others would have speculated that the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II could be a sign. “And so there was a certain unrest in the group. When will it finally start?”
Haldenwang: This group is dangerous
The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution warned against playing down the group because of its crude ideas. He said: “This group is dangerous simply because of their irrationality and access to weapons.” Not in the sense that there should have been serious concern that a putsch might have succeeded – “there weren’t enough people with the wrong means for that.” But even an attempted overthrow could have had “enormously bad consequences”.
The protection of the constitution also directs its attention to settlement efforts by right-wing extremists who are trying to “create a self-sufficient retreat for life among like-minded people” and to “connect their own ideological ideas”. The purchase of corresponding properties can be observed in some eastern German states and in northern Germany. Some of these collectives are characterized by diffusely esoteric ideas, but there are also “clear right-wing extremist ideologies” behind them. “Action-oriented right-wing extremists or actors of the New Right” also tried to capture individual towns or regions. “Racist or anti-Semitic narratives” can often be identified.
