Germany Classifies the "Alternative" Party Branch in Lower Saxony as a Radical Organization

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Lower Saxony, Germany, has classified the branch of the "Alternative for Germany" party as an organization with radical tendencies, according to the German news agency "dpa".

On Tuesday, the state's Interior Minister, Daniela Behrens, a member of the Social Democratic Party, stated:
"The assessment by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is clear; the greatest threat to our society comes from right-wing extremism, and based on this classification, the branch of the Alternative Party can be clearly included in this phenomenon."

The minister added that the continued monitoring of the party by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is a logical consequence of this classification, noting that the right-wing extremist ideology has become the consensus within the entire party, including its branch in Lower Saxony.

She explained that the party is now characterized by "anti-constitutional statements and behaviors that are often expressed in aggressive and confrontational language," emphasizing that this tendency rejects the free democratic system.

It is noted that the "Alternative for Germany" party is already classified as a right-wing extremist organization in four other German states: Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, while the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has raised the classification of the party in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland to "confirmed case of a right-wing extremist organization," but legal challenges from the party prevent the official application of the classification until the lawsuits are resolved.

At the federal level, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution announced in May 2025 its intention to classify the entire party as a right-wing extremist organization, but it temporarily halted this classification pending the resolution of the legal case.

The last review of the party's classification took place in 2024 and was extended once for two years. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution must make a final decision by May 6 regarding whether there is enough evidence to classify the party as a right-wing extremist organization or to end the monitoring.

Politically, the "Alternative for Germany" party holds the second-largest parliamentary group in the Bundestag after the Christian Democratic Union led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz.