MFA Germany in row with U.S. diplomacy over AfD's “extremist” label

The German Foreign Ministry publicly denounced the U.S. State Department's accusation of alleged oppression of democracy in Germany due to the recognition of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as right-wing extremist force.

The Foreign Ministry addressed the State Department on X regarding the matter, Ukrinform reports.

"This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped," the foreign ministry in Berlin wrote.

The post came as a response to a comment by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who condemned the decision made by German constitutional bodies.

“Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition.  That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes,” the U.S. top diplomat wrote on Friday.

This is not the first time that representatives of the new administration or those close to U.S. President Donald Trump have come to the defense of the AfD. Elon Musk has repeatedly expressed his sympathy for the force, even addressing Germans, calling on them to vote for the populist party in the elections held on February 23. Vice President J.D. Vance, who found no time to meet outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, did meet with AfD leader Alice Weidel (who was not even a participant in the conference), also openly expressing his sympathy for the party.

After sharp criticism from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the designation of the AfD as a right-wing extremist force, German diplomacy praised the decision made by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as democratic.

As reported, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, a counterintelligence agency, had previously designated the AfD as "unequivocally right-wing extremist" following a probe that lasted several years. The Interior Ministry welcomed the decision. Among other things, this renews the discussion about the possibility of banning the party, which came runners-up in the latest elections and currently leads some ratings. The AfD has vowed to defend itself by all legal means.

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