German far-right AfD first party put under surveillance…

Germany’s far-right AfD party has been put under formal surveillance on suspicion of seeking to undermine the democratic post-war constitution.  

The move will allow the Federal Office for Protection of the Constitution (BfV) to eavesdrop on AfD members and scrutinise party funding, making it the first party to be monitored in this way since the end of World War II. 

The AfD was propelled into the German parliament in 2017 by voters angry with Angela Merkel’s open-door refugee policy, but it is shunned by mainstream parties who blame it for stirring up hatred and violence against immigrants. 

The party, whose full name is Alternative for Germany, has also caused outrage by demanding an end to Germany’s culture of atonement for its Nazi crimes.   

Protesters wave German flags at a Berlin rally organised by the AfD, which is now under formal surveillance for allegedly seeking to undermine the post-war constitution (file photo)

The Central Council of Jews in Germany welcomed the decision, saying: ‘The AfD’s destructive politics undermine our democratic institutions and discredit democracy among citizens.’ 

The BfV’s move follows a two-year review of the AfD’s political platform, and could potentially allow authorities to monitor the party with undercover informants. 

Investigators gathered 1,000 pages of evidence, including several hundred speeches and statements by AfD members at all party levels, German media said.

But current lawmakers and national political candidates will be excluded from the monitoring, parliamentary sources said.   

A spokeswoman for the BfV declined to comment, citing a court case brought by the AfD, but the party was furious.

One of the heads of the party, Alexander Gauland, accused the BfV of playing politics and trying to bring about the ‘destruction’ of the AfD. 

‘The agenda is clear. First we are made a ‘case to investigate’, now we are a ‘suspected case’ and are under surveillance – and at some point there will be a request to ban our party,’ he said. 

‘That, thank God, will be a decision for the Constitutional Court and not the BfV.’

Gauland and AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla told a news conference that they had only learnt about the decision from media reports. 

They also accused authorities of trying to damage the AfD’s chances in a September election which will see Merkel bow out of politics after 16 years at the helm. 

The AfD first entered the German parliament in 2017, riding a wave of anger at Angela Merkel (pictured) and her open-door refugee policies

The AfD first entered the German parliament in 2017, riding a wave of anger at Angela Merkel (pictured) and her open-door refugee policies 

The AfD won 12.6 per cent at the last election to become the third-biggest party in the Bundestag, and also has lawmakers in all 16 regional assemblies. 

But its support has fallen in recent polls, dented by infighting and its opposition to lockdown measures to stem the coronavirus pandemic. 

One of its co-leaders, Joerg Meuthen, has opened a rift by arguing that the AfD needs to expel members suspected of sympathising with violent far-right groups. 

The BfV had already placed a radical fringe of the party known as The Wing under surveillance last year because of its links with known neo-Nazis. 

The faction, led by firebrand politician Bjoern Hoecke, dissolved itself last March but many of its 7,000 members remain active in the AfD.

The AfD’s regional branches in Thuringia, Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt have also been designated as ‘suspected cases’ of right-wing extremism.   

Four years ago, the German government failed to ban the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD), which had won a handful of seats in local elections. 

The constitutional court ruled that, while it resembled Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party, it was too weak to endanger Germany’s post-war democracy.