German intelligence services (BfV) have issued a stern warning about the growing danger that the far-right poses to the country’s democracy, highlighting a significant increase in the number of members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party classified as possible extremists.
According to a government report released on Tuesday that analyzes data from 2025, it is estimated that around 28,000 of the AfD’s 70,000 members have the potential for far-right extremism. This figure represents an alarming 40% increase compared to the 20,000 members identified the previous year. A diagnosis that leaves the way open to possible illegalization.
The dossier, presented by the Ministry of the Interior and the BfV (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution), underlines that the AfD has shown no signs of moderating those positions that have drawn scrutiny from security agencies. Among these positions, the document highlights the promotion of a conception of the German people based on ethnic ancestry, an ideology that the courts have already ruled as incompatible with the country’s Constitution.
“Pressure from within and without”
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the situation as one in which “Germany is under pressure”, noting that the country faces both internal and external threats. “From within, we face the pressure of extremism of all stripes, in the digital space as well as on the streets,” he said.
Officials say far-right extremism, in particular, remains the biggest threat to German democracy. The report expresses particular concern about the growing appeal of these ideologies among young people, driven largely by online radicalization. In addition, an increase in the connection between extremist groups and a worrying trend towards violence stands out.
The AfD has consistently rejected these accusations, calling the intelligence services’ assessments “politically motivated” and denying that its views are extremist.
BfV Vice President Sinan Selen added that Germany is also at the center of an external “web of hybrid threats”, highlighting sabotage and espionage, with a particular mention of Russia, the biggest current threat.
A polarized political context
This report is published at a time of notable political rise for the AfD. The party has overtaken Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives in national opinion polls. He also maintains a significant lead in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where polls suggest he could win power for the first time in elections scheduled for September.
In parallel, party leaders, facing possible aspirations to govern at the national level, have expressed intentions to review German foreign policy, suggesting, according to reports, the desire to restore ties with Russia if they reach the chancellorship, a turn that would clash head-on with the current position of Berlin and the European Union after the invasion of Ukraine.
Intelligence authorities see these positions and comments, such as those of the AfD leader in Thuringia, Björn Höcke – who described a UN resettlement program as “population replacement” – as part of a process of “ideological homogenization” within the party, where more moderate or liberal-conservative voices are increasingly less visible.
Waiting for the European Parliament
In addition, the European Parliament will decide next week whether to ask the community authority for political parties to verify whether the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party, the far-right party that includes Alternative for Germany, meets the basic values to have European party status and receive community funding.
The plenary session of the European Parliament will therefore vote on whether to continue this process initiated by the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations (APPF), which at the end of May informed the community institutions of its doubts that ESN complied with the values required to be a community party.
European parties undertake that their members respect the basic values of the European Union set out in Article 2 of the treaties, such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law and human rights, including those of minorities.
The 300-page APPF report, revealed by the European news outlet Politico, includes screenshots and messages on social networks from people linked to the party with anti-Semitic, anti-LGTBIQ+ and anti-migrant content, as well as evidence that one of its members openly cooperates with the party of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
