The Federal Agency for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has attributed a “firmly entrenched xenophobic stance” to the “highest leadership structure” of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). This is stated in a 1,108-page report by the domestic intelligence service, which classifies the party as “right-wing extremist”, as reported by the “Spiegel”. The report claims that the “constitutional opposition stance” of the AfD has “firmly solidified” in recent years. The agency has gathered evidence from 353 members of the “Alternative for Germany” at all levels, from local to party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla. Almost all members of the party’s executive board are cited with incriminating statements. According to the protection of the constitution, the volkisch-nationalist camp in the AfD has completely taken over in recent years. “No moderation is visible”, the BfV writes. Resistance against right-wing extremist positions is hardly recognizable in the party. Therefore, the BfV does not believe that “more moderate forces in the AfD can still reverse the constitutionally oppositional character of the entire party”. The BfV considers the “ethnic-ancestral people’s concept” prevalent in the AfD to be problematic. According to the report, party officials differentiate between “real” Germans and “pass Germans”. The latter are seen as second-class citizens due to their migratory background. This is not compatible with the human dignity enshrined in the Basic Law. The BfV also speaks of continuous agitation against migrants, refugees and Muslims by party officials. The AfD portrays migrants as a “threatening collective” and sometimes attributes an “increased propensity for violence” to entire groups based on their origin. As a supposed solution to the problems, the party advocates “remigration” in a “persistent and offensive” manner. The claim of the AfD that it only wants to focus on the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and migrants without a right to stay, according to the intelligence service, is misleading. AfD politicians repeatedly called for a “million-fold remigration”, which exceeds the number of deportable foreigners “by far”. The agency also has a “strong suspicion” that the AfD is also directed against the “principle of democracy”. Party officials continuously defame representatives of other parties in a “pervasive” manner and portray them as, for example, a “community of political crooks” or as “traitors to the people”.
AfD Leadership Deeply Rooted in Xenophobia, Says BfV Report
