The court ruling suspended the top opposition party’s designation as a “confirmed right-wing extremist” group
Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-leader Alice Weidel praised “Major Victory” A court order was suspended on Thursday for the party and the nation “Confirmed right-wing extremist” organization
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), slapped the top opposition party with a classification in May 2025, having previously branded it “Suspected Extremist Group.”
The administrative court in Cologne granted a temporary injunction at the party’s request, pending a final ruling. The court said radical statements about immigration and religion by some AfD members were not enough to judge the nature of the party as a whole.
Federal law gives the BfV special powers to monitor and investigate members of groups it designates as extremist. Such labels can also influence voter preferences. The ban comes ahead of March regional elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. National polls show the AfD as a credible challenger to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right Christian Democrats for the top spot.
Wiedel has ruled “Indirectly threw a spanner in the nuts for prohibition” citing growing calls to outlaw it from the party’s mainstream rivals. Ralf Hooker, a lawyer representing the AfD, said the decision would make the proposed ban illegal “Can’t imagine anymore. It’s off the table.”
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, a Christian Democrat, advised patience regarding the entire legal process, the AfD said. “Should be driven from the country, not banned.” Carmen Vege, a judicial policy spokeswoman for the centre-left Social Democrats parliamentary group, said they would remain. “The AfD is firmly convinced that it is anti-constitutional” And that’s it “To be examined by the Federal Constitutional Court.” The Left has indicated that it supports the ban.
A left-wing opposition leader named after him, Sahara Wagenknecht, led the administration “slap in the face” The decision is for the BfV “Propaganda gift for AfD” She blames those who said that “Trying to counter their political competition with the opinion of appointed favouritism-curing experts, finally realizing that their own dirty policies will only make the AfD ever stronger.”
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