Status: 12.12.2023, 09:31 a.m.
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"There are condensed indications that the Young Alternative does not play by democratic rules, but prefers its own right-wing extremist rules," said North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU). © Roberto Pfeil/dpa
The AfD's junior members in North Rhine-Westphalia are now under surveillance by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Reul sees right-wing extremist tendencies in the Young Alternative.
Düsseldorf - The North Rhine-Westphalian Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified the AfD's youth organization, Junge Alternative (JA), as a suspected right-wing extremist case in North Rhine-Westphalia. "There are condensed indications that the Young Alternative does not play by democratic rules, but prefers its own right-wing extremist rules," Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) announced on Tuesday. The NRW Office for the Protection of the Constitution is therefore monitoring the Young Alternative from now on.
Since 2019, the state association of the JA NRW has ideologically swung to the political course of the Federal Association of Young Alternative, the interior minister continued. This is characterized by a "völkisch-ethnic understanding of the people and xenophobia". The JA NRW also represents positions that violate the guarantee of human dignity. In particular, the aim is to exclude and disparage people with migration backgrounds and Muslims.
In recent years, the JA NRW has developed into a component of the right-wing extremist current of the New Right, according to Reul. The NRW AfD junior members are promoting the "Identitarian Movement" and its successor organisations such as "Lukreta", "Revolte Rheinland", "1 Percent" and the "Institute for State Policy" on social media.
The AfD's youth organisation in North Rhine-Westphalia also offers protagonists of the New Right a forum. People with right-wing extremist biographies are also active in the JA NRW. Another important clue is the proximity to the formally dissolved so-called wing of the AfD federal party and its ideological leader Björn Höcke.
In the case of a suspected case, there are "sufficiently weighty factual indications" of anti-constitutional tendencies. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution can then evaluate and store personal data and, under strict conditions, use intelligence means, such as observation or recruitment of informants.
Decisions of the Higher Administrative Court are still awaited
At the Higher Administrative Court of Münster, a dispute is currently pending between the AfD federal party and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution over the classification of the party as a suspected right-wing extremist case. The federal association of the AfD is defending itself against a ruling from the first instance. In March 2022, the Administrative Court of Cologne ruled in favor of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in classifying the AfD as a suspected case. The Federal Association of Young Alternative also no longer wants to be classified as a suspected case.
The decisions of the Higher Administrative Court in Münster in these nationwide cases are expected in the spring. The proceedings are pending in North Rhine-Westphalia because the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has its headquarters in Cologne.
Interior Minister Reul said that regardless of the professional assessment, the AfD's youth organization would have to be dealt with politically. "To achieve this, we, as political leaders, must make good policies for the people of this country and explain them sensibly." dpa