Description: Germany’s internal intelligence agency, the BfV, has classified the entirety of the far – right party AfD, as an extremist entity. The classification would enable the agency and other legal bodies and institutions broad jurisdictions when investigating the AfD, which came as the second largest supported party in the recent federal election. BfV reached their decision citing the AfD’s extremist sentiments, which mostly revolved around excluding the ethnic minorities from equally participating in the country’s socio – economic system and including Islamophobic and xenophobic narratives in their political charter. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has deemed the classification as a tyranny in disguise after which the German Foreign Ministry responded that German institutions would defend the country’s democracy and ethnic equality by any means necessary. Joint leaders Allice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla have denounced the classification and vowed to pursue the matter legally.
Impact: Germany has been in a fragile political state of affairs ever since the federal election, when AfD became the second most – supported political entity. The country’s firewall law originating from the end of the Second World War, which banned extremist political entities from absorbing power has so far prevented the far -right from making any substantial impact in Germany’s political landscape. The classification would further allow institutions to probe into the extremist element of the political entity which raises concerns over civil upheaval as the party carved out a substantial portion of voters. AfD’s direct support from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio doesn’t come as a surprise as the Republican administration is largely aligned with AfD’s political charter, epitomized by the mass deportations of migrants, the enforced censorship on the media and the wholesale labeling of the followers of the Islamic religion as terrorists. Germany approaches the deadline when a federal government needs to be established which could be threatened by AfD’s classification as an extremist entity.