US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has strongly criticised Germany for officially classifying the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an extremist organisation, accusing the German government of undermining democracy under the guise of national security.
Reacting on X (formerly Twitter), Rubio wrote, “Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the Opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise.” He also attacked Germany’s immigration stance, claiming, “What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes.”
Rubio’s comments come after Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), officially designated the AfD as a confirmed right-wing extremist group. The classification follows a three-year investigation and a comprehensive 1,100-page expert report, which concluded the party’s ideology is incompatible with Germany’s liberal democratic order.
The BfV’s new designation gives authorities greater latitude to surveil the AfD, including the use of confidential informants and intercepting communications. Until now, the party had been classified only as a “suspicion case” at the federal level, although several state branches had already been identified as extremist.
The BfV cited the party’s “ethnic-based concept of the people” and anti-Muslim rhetoric as key grounds for its decision.
AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla have condemned the ruling, calling it a “serious blow to democracy” and a politically motivated attempt to suppress dissent. They announced that the party would challenge the classification through legal channels, describing the BfV’s actions as “democracy-endangering defamation.”
Rubio’s public defence of the AfD aligns with a growing trend of support for the party among prominent figures in the Trump administration. US Vice-President J.D. Vance and tech billionaire Elon Musk have also expressed sympathies for the AfD’s anti-immigration and nationalist platform.
Despite its controversial positions, the AfD continues to gain traction in Germany’s political landscape. Last month, the party overtook the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc in a national opinion poll, becoming the strongest political force in the country for the first time.
The classification is likely to fuel further debate over the boundaries of free speech, opposition politics, and state power in both Germany and beyond, particularly among right-wing populist movements gaining ground across Europe and the United States.
