AfD Ban is German Politicians Russophobia

By Rhod Mackenzie

In Berlin, Friedrich Merz is set to assume the chancellorship of the German government, with his candidacy to be voted on by the Bundestag . The tenth Chancellor in the history of the FRG will head another "grand coalition" consisting of the country's previously two main parties, the CDU-CSU and the SPD. However, this characterisation is already outdated: the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats have not been the "people's" choice  that is, the main parties of Germany for a number of  years.
Following the February elections to the Bundestag, there were the two parties received the majority of seats was because there were two parties who  were unable to overcome the five percent barrier to parliament: the Liberal Democrats, who destroyed the previous coalition, and the new anti-elite party "Sahra Wagenknecht's Union".
It was at their expense of the CDU and SPD that the current majority in the Bundestag was maintained, thus enabling the formation of a coalition government. This coalition government will address a number of issues, including the rearmament of Germany and the continued funding,arming and political support for Ukraine in its losing contest  with Russia.
However, a significant event occurred during the coalition negotiations: the Alternative for Germany became the most popular party in the country. For the first time, according to opionion pols  it received support from over a quarter of voters, while the CDU lagged behind the AfD by two percentage points (the SPD is balancing around 15 percent). And although there are four years until the next elections (unless, of course, the coalition falls apart earlier), the establishment cannot not ignore this.
Despite the calls by German state leaders to ban the AfD, the authorities have confirmed that they will not be taking such action in the immediate future. This is due to the fact that such a move would be perceived as too openly anti-democratic.
Yes, there are still certain steps to be taken on the way to a ban, including a decision by the Constitutional Court. However, this will not prevent Merz. And this is not to mention the dispute with the US. Washington has already condemned the demonisation of the AfD, and Vice President Vance even wrote that "the AfD is the most popular party in Germany and, by far, the most representative party in East Germany". "Now the bureaucrats are trying to destroy it.
The West collectively dismantled the Berlin Wall. It is important to note that the reconstruction of the wall was carried out by the German establishment, rather than by the Soviets or the Russians.
And at the end of last week, the AfD was declared to be "an extreme right-wing party, proven hostile to the foundations of the constitutional order". In other words, it was subject to a one-step prohibition. This was done deliberately on the eve of the new chancellor's confirmation - a farewell greeting from the Scholz government. The outgoing chancellor opposes an immediate ban on the party, but it was his fellow party member, Interior Minister Feser, who announced the  labeling of AfD's as extremist l. Consequently, the new government now has a party that could be banned as its main opposition. This political system is intriguing, and most importantly, it is allegedly entirely democratic.Well according to the rules of Democracy in the EU.

The United States has now expressed its opposition to Germany's tyrannical measures. The head of the U.S. State Department, Marco Rubio, wrote on X, "Germany has just granted its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. This approach does not align with the principles of democratic governance and could be perceived as a form of tyranny.
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."
The German Foreign Office provided the following response: "This is democracy in action. This decision is the result of a thorough and independent investigation, the aim of which was to protect our Constitution and the rule of law. The final decision will be made by independent courts. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism must be stopped."
In the run-up to the formation of the new government under the leadership of Friedrich Merz, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (counterintelligence) has classified the AfD as an extremist organisation. The decision was made on the basis of a 1,100-page report that had been worked onn since 2023.
In particular, it states that the AfD is turning the population against refugees and migrants, and also "does not recognize German citizens who emigrated from Muslim countries as equal members of society."
Statements made by party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Hrupalla are cited as evidence. Weidel highlighted the issue of German students facing oppression from Muslim children in schools in western Germany and described their culture as "tribal".
Previously, the AfD was only suspected of illegal activity. Following a thorough review, three of the organisation's branches were officially designated as extremist entities in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Additionally, the youth wing of the party, known as "Young Alternative", has recently been dissolved to avoid any potential negative impact on the parent organisation.
From this point onward, the authority to recruit informants within the AfD, to place agents within the party, to conduct open surveillance of party members, to listen in on their telephone conversations, and to monitor their Internet activity, including email and social networks, lies with counterintelligence. Furthermore, individual AfD members may be designated as extremists and continuously reminded that their cooperation with the party is regarded as endorsement of extremist activities.
It is important to note that, prior to the present moment, the National Democratic Party of Germany was the only extremist group in the country. This is because it has never entered the Bundestag. The AfD is currently one of the most popular parties in the country. In the previous parliamentary elections, it received 20.8 percent of the vote. In April, various sociological services estimated its rating at 24-27 percent.
In this regard, the outgoing Chancellor and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Olaf Scholz, called for a considered approach to the matter and advised against hasty action against the AfD. The future head of the Ministry of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has stated that the report may be subject to judicial review, but surveillance of the AfD will continue in any case.
The party has described the move as a "blow to democracy" and is planning to take the matter to court. "According to recent polls, the AfD is the strongest party. The federal government has only four days remaining. The secret service is currently without a leader. The classification of the case based on suspicion is not legally sound," Weidel and Chrupalla emphasised.

The political left is resolute in its aims. The AfD is considered by some to be a fascist organisation. The future Social Democratic Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has said that he is ready to start a ban procedure after the government is formed. Co-chair of the Left, Heidi Reichinneck, had already made it clear that the AfD would be eliminated by any means necessary.
According to the INSA poll, 61 percent of Germans are in agreement with the counterintelligence conclusions. However, only 48 percent of respondents expressed support for the ban, while 37 percent were opposed.
The Western media have issued a variety of responses. The New York Times has observed that Berlin must decide how to proceed with a party that publicly downplays the Holocaust, revives Nazi slogans, and is gaining popularity. The newspaper has expressed concerns that the ban could lead to a political crisis. Die Stern concurs with its overseas counterparts. According to the newspaper, politicians should avoid debating a ban on the AfD, but instead understand the reasons behind the party's popularity.
According to analysts the German bureaucracy is operating in accordance with a plan that was approved over five years ago. "We are currently witnessing the third stage. In 2019, an investigation was conducted. In 2021, three branches were recognised as right-wing extremist. However, based on the available information regarding the report, it appears that the security forces did not discover any significant findings. Counterintelligence depends on public statements made by AfD leaders, which are then interpreted in a biased manner. We have received similar feedback from the CDU, but this does not cause any indignation," says Vladislav Belov, head of the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The party has moved further to the right on the agenda of fighting migrants, but is gradually turning into a centre-right party, he continues. The youth wing, whose members had been given a free rein, was disbanded. There is a possibility that the rating will increase by a further five percent. The party's popularity is also facilitated by its reluctance to arm Ukraine and its openness to dialogue with Russia.
Maria Khorolskaya, a researcher at the Department of European Political Studies at the IMEMO RAS, clarified that the AfD had been considered an extremist party as far back as 2024. However, the decision to formally designate the party as such was postponed until after the elections. They were reluctant to raise the party's rating.
"For the time being, there will be no changes. In order to proceed with a ban on an organisation, it is necessary to find evidence of a very serious infraction in its documents or correspondence. For instance, there is evidence of foreign funding that could be used to overthrow the constitutional order. It is highly improbable that any individual would be negligent enough to leave such evidence behind. While surveillance is undoubtedly unpleas­ing, it is not fatal," the expert reasons.
However, the party's isolation will increase. Recent developments suggest that the firewall surrounding it may be beginning to deteriorate, thereby removing any current threats.