Following a partial legal victory for the AfD in court, Germany's Federal Interior Ministry is reviewing a domestic intelligence expert opinion on classifying the party as right-wing extremist. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has announced an in-depth examination that was not conducted under his predecessor Nancy Faeser. The Cologne Administrative Court has temporarily suspended the classification.
Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a "confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor" in May 2025, shortly before the government change. The basis was an expert opinion exceeding 1100 pages, listing statements and activities by AfD politicians as evidence of anti-constitutional tendencies. It stated that the party was dominated by an "ethnically-ascribed" understanding of the people that devalued population groups and violated their human dignity.
The expert opinion had been received in April 2025 from then-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), without a substantive review taking place, as a ministry spokesperson told the German Press Agency. Following a report in the "Bild" newspaper, the ministry confirmed that an in-depth review would now be conducted in connection with a court decision.
On Thursday, the Cologne Administrative Court ruled in an urgent procedure that the BfV may not classify or label the AfD as confirmed right-wing extremist for the time being. A decision on the merits is still pending. According to the court, there is certainty of efforts directed against the free democratic basic order within the AfD, but these do not shape the party's overall image in a way that justifies establishing an anti-constitutional basic tendency.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) announced the new review and pointed to omissions under Faeser. The AfD celebrated the partial success as a legal victory against the classification.
