The Saxon state association of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization after four years of intensive surveillance. This decision, based on a 134-page report, follows a gradual escalation of surveillance, starting as a test case and ending as a suspected case in February 2021.
The President of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) of Saxony, Dirk-Martin Christian, made an unequivocal statement on the right-wing extremist orientation of the AfD state association. Over four years, the LfV collected numerous pieces of evidence, including statements and political demands from senior officials and elected representatives, which clearly demonstrated the party's anti-constitutional aims.
Christian emphasized that the AfD state association is dominated in particular by the "solidary-patriotic camp", shaped by the ideology of right-wing extremist Björn Höcke. According to Christian, this current has influenced the character of the entire state association.
The LfV report describes the AfD Saxony as a monolithic block that outwardly refuses to distance itself from right-wing extremist statements made by leading party members or to critically question them. The party's positions on migration, which are based on ethnocentric and racist ideologies that are incompatible with the Basic Law, are particularly worrying.
The anti-constitutional views of the AfD state association also include anti-Islam and anti-Muslim statements. Male migrants from the Arab world are vilified by party members and portrayed as a threat, which fuels fears and resentment among the population.
In addition, the report shows that the AfD Saxony consistently agitated against the basic political order of the Federal Republic of Germany during the coronavirus pandemic, defamed state institutions and disparaged democratic principles.
Furthermore, structural and strategic links between the AfD state association and other extremist actors, including the "Free Saxons", the "Identitarian Movement", "PEGIDA", the "Institute for State Policy" and "COMPACT-Magazin GmbH", were identified. The youth organization "Junge Alternative", which has also been classified as right-wing extremist, has not yet distanced itself from the group.
This classification by the LfV Saxony is a clear signal against extremist efforts in the political landscape and underlines the need to defend democratic values and the free basic order.
Source: Medienportal Sachsen
