Lead
Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, has reported a 40% rise in the number of members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party who could potentially become extremists. The finding was part of the agency's annual report, released on Tuesday, which also warned of growing threats from hostile foreign powers, particularly Russia.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt presented the report in Berlin, saying that 'the adversaries of our free democratic basic order come from both outside and within.'
Coverage comparison
Israeli news outlet The Jerusalem Post and Australian public broadcaster ABC Australia both covered the release of the BfV's annual report. Both reports highlighted the increase in AfD members considered to have extremist potential. The Jerusalem Post focused on the political implications, noting the AfD's rising poll numbers. ABC Australia emphasized the broader security threats facing Germany, including foreign interference and domestic extremism.
Key claims
According to the BfV report, some 28,000 of the AfD's approximately 70,000 members were considered to have the potential for right-wing extremism, up from 20,000 the previous year. The report found no signs that the party had distanced itself from positions that concern the BfV. The AfD has rejected the accusations, describing the intelligence service's assessments as politically motivated.
The AfD has pulled ahead of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives in national opinion polls. It is also far ahead of any other party in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where it could win power for the first time in a September election, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
The BfV defines extremism as efforts directed against Germany's free democratic constitutional order.
ABC Australia reported that the BfV warned of a growing risk from Moscow-recruited saboteurs, Chinese spies, Iran-backed Islamist militants, and violent neo-Nazis. The greatest external threat 'currently comes from Russia,' Dobrindt said, pointing to suspected cases of low-level or 'disposable' agents recruited to carry out espionage and sabotage. BfV head Sinan Selen stated: 'Russia views Germany as a key adversary in Europe and employs the full spectrum of tools in its hybrid operations across the continent.'
The report said foreign powers, not just Russia, carry out sabotage operations, engage in illicit economic or political interference—including assassination operations—and spread disinformation. Foreign powers have also targeted exiled opposition figures and political activists in Germany. Critics of authoritarian regimes living in Germany are pursued 'using methods akin to state terrorism, such as attacks, abductions or killings,' the report said.
ABC Australia also reported that right-wing extremist groups remain a much larger threat in Germany than those on the far left, although Dobrindt noted a rise in violent incidents from both sides. The report also called antisemitism a key driver of activities targeting Jewish and Israeli targets.