A Court Ordered German Security Services to Temporarily Remove AfD’s “Confirmed Extremism” Status

The Administrative Court in Cologne imposed an interim measure that will remain in force until a final ruling is issued on the legality of assigning this status to the Alternative for Germany party—AfD. The legal proceedings could stretch on for months or even years. The intelligence service announced the designation in May.

Alice Weidel, one of the party’s co-leaders, welcomed the court’s decision in a post on X, calling it “a major victory not only for AfD, but for democracy and the rule of law.”

The practical impact of the ruling, however, is limited. Despite the temporary suspension of the “confirmed extremist” label, a lesser designation—“suspected extremism”—remains in force, a classification that had previously been applied to AfD by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

This means the intelligence service can still deploy nearly its full range of surveillance tools against the party—including wiretapping telephone conversations and the use of paid informants.

The ruling is unlikely to significantly alter AfD’s political prospects. The party’s record—with derogatory remarks about migrants, the relativization of the Holocaust, and the use of Nazi symbols and slogans—is well known to the German public. More broadly, debates over a possible ban on AfD and the formal labels attached to it have largely lost their edge.

A party that until recently sat on the political margins has become an established part of Germany’s political landscape. Many of its opponents now prefer to challenge it at the ballot box rather than in court. In last year’s federal election, AfD came second with 21 percent of the vote, and its standing remains strong, according to both national and regional polls.

During televised leaders’ debates in last year’s campaign, Alice Weidel was given equal airtime alongside representatives of mainstream parties. This week, an AfD candidate was also included in televised debates ahead of the Baden-Württemberg state parliament elections.

The administration of Donald Trump has publicly defended AfD and other far-right parties in Europe, condemning efforts to isolate them and restrict freedom of expression. In a sharply worded speech in Munich last year, Vice President J.D. Vance effectively criticized Germany’s approach to AfD. After the party was designated a “confirmed extremist organization,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the decision as “tyranny disguised” in a post on X.

According to polls, AfD could come first in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg—Western Pomerania, two eastern states where elections are scheduled for September. However, because other parties refuse to enter into coalitions with it, the likelihood that AfD will be able to govern these regions remains low—unless it secures an outright majority.

Germany’s dark historical legacy is reflected in provisions of its modern constitution, which—under strict legal safeguards—allow surveillance of political parties deemed to pose a threat to democracy or the constitutional order.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution first designated AfD as a “case for review” on suspicion of extremism in 2019, allowing surveillance to begin. In 2021, the party was classified as “suspected of extremism,” expanding monitoring powers, and last year it was placed in the “confirmed extremist” category.

The court ruling issued on Thursday does not apply to regional intelligence services, which are entitled to assess the activities of the party’s state-level organizations independently. Last week, the intelligence service of Lower Saxony designated the local AfD branch as “confirmed extremist”—making it the fifth state to take such a step.