The German intelligence services are authorized to exercise their surveillance over the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the administrative justice decided on Tuesday March 8, dismissing the political party which contested this very severe measure.
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There are "
sufficient real indications of anti-constitutional tendencies within the party
" to justify this surveillance, ruled the Cologne administrative court, which had been seized of several appeals.
The decision of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution to place the AfD among the “
suspect cases
” – which allows it to monitor its communications or even to introduce informants into its ranks – caused a stir there. is one year old, seven months before the legislative elections in September.
Placement under surveillance is marked with the political seal of infamy in Germany because it is generally reserved for ultra-radical groups.
The AfD had managed to have the intelligence services' decision suspended, citing various reasons including, according to it, a breach
of "equal opportunities
" between parties at the start of the electoral campaign.
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Created in 2013, this anti-immigration party had upset the political landscape by entering the Chamber of Deputies in 2017, embodying the first force of opposition to the conservatives of Angela Merkel and the social democrats, then allies in power.
The party, which built its success on its positions against the migration policy of the ex-chancellor and then against health restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, is currently torn by internal quarrels and losing momentum.
He had obtained 10.3% in the September 2021 elections won by the Social Democrats of Olaf Scholz, losing 2.3 points and 11 seats.
In a recent poll, the AfD fell below 10% of voting intentions.
