The German government appears to be seriously preparing for a ban of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after the country’s powerful domestic spy agency classified the party as “definitely right-wing extremist.” Now, world leaders are reacting to the classification, with Hungarian Prime Minister saying he backs the party and its co-leader Alice Weidel.
After the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) gave the AfD its new designation, which paves the way for a ban of the entire party, Orbán asked on X “What the hell is going on in Germany?”
He then tagged Alice Weidel and stated: “You can count on us.”
Orbán and Fidesz kept their distance from the AfD for years, mainly under pressure from the German government. However, shortly before Germany’s national elections, Orbán hosted Weidel in the country in February, calling the AfD the “future of Europe.” Weidel described Orbán as a “role model.”
Orbán is far from the only one backing the AfD. The BfV’s new classification of the AfD gives the spy agency unbelievable powers to several AfD members, including access to their emails, phone calls, and chats. Considering it is the largest opposition party in the country, which now polls as the most popular party in the country, the threat to democracy and privacy is enormous.
The United States is now coming out against Germany’s tyrannical measures. The head of the U.S. State Department, Marco Rubio, wrote on X, “Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise. 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 even responded, writing: “This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”
Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk wrote on X that a ban of the AfD would be “an extreme attack on democracy.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance wrote: “The AfD is the most popular party in Germany (…). Now the bureaucrats are trying to destroy it.” Referencing German history, he added: “The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it was rebuilt—not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment.”
There are growing calls now, even in the CDU, to an outright ban on the party. However, Friedrich Merz has not yet commented on a ban, while his future interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has urged caution against one.
The AfD has already launched legal action against the BfV designation. A ban would disenfranchise millions of voters and descend Germany into the realm of an authoritarian system known for banning opposition parties. There are also doubts about whether a ban would even be successful, with the country’s top court, the Constitutional Court, potentially ruling against it; regardless of the outcome, it would take years of legal battles to finally conclude.
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