Germany’s domestic intelligence agency on Friday designated the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, as an “extremist endeavor,” a move that lowers hurdles for the spy agency in conducting certain kinds of surveillance on the party, the second-largest in Germany’s parliament.
The reclassification — AfD was previously designated a “suspected” extremist group — is likely to reignite debate over potentially banning the party via Germany’s Constitutional Court. Such a move would initiate a lengthy legal process lasting years that experts and even the AfD’s fiercest critics say may carry greater risks than rewards.
The decision could put public funding of the AfD at risk, while civil servants who belong to an organisation classified as ‘extremist’ face possible dismissal, depending on their role within the entity, according to Germany’s interior ministry.
Here is the first story. Although I do not like the AfD, there is an alternative solution here. Other German parties, including the ruling coalition, could move closer to median voter sentiment on migration issues. Heaven forbid!
And didn’t France just stop Le Pen from running in the next election? I am very much opposed to the efforts of the Trump administration to intimidate the U.S. judiciary, but I find it weird when Europeans tell Americans concerned with democracy to move to Europe.
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