AfD in Lower Saxony now under heightened German surveillance

Lower Saxony's Domestic Intelligence Classifies AfD as an Object of Surveillance

Constitutional Protection in Lower Saxony Classifies AfD as a Significant Object of Observation - Germany escalates surveillance of AfD in Lower Saxony over extremist ties

In Lower Saxony, the state's domestic intelligence agency (Landesverfassungsschutz) has classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a "case under suspicion" since May 2022, a designation that was extended by two years in May 2024. According to the state interior ministry, further extensions of this classification are not legally possible. Authorities therefore had to choose between upgrading the party to an "object of surveillance of significant importance" or discontinuing monitoring altogether.

The agency justified the reclassification by stating that the AfD's Lower Saxony branch adheres to an "ethnic-descent-based understanding of the people" as a "core element of a völkisch-nationalist ideology"—a position held by the party at the national level. Additionally, the AfD in Lower Saxony is accused of "contempt for and defamation of the democratic rule of law" and of engaging in "blanket devaluation of groups of people" through hostility toward migrants, foreigners, and the LGBTQ+ community, actions incompatible with the equality rights enshrined in Germany's Basic Law. The statement further noted that formally dissolved extremist factions within the party, such as the so-called Flügel (Wing) and Junge Alternative (Young Alternative), have since been absorbed into its structures.

The interior ministry in Hannover summarized the findings by stating that right-wing extremist ideology has now become a "consensus" within the AfD at both the federal and state levels. Dirk Pejril, president of Lower Saxony's domestic intelligence agency, declared: "Overall, extremist forces within the AfD are gaining influence nationwide." While the party in Lower Saxony occasionally presents a more moderate public image, he added, it has not distanced itself from extremist elements.

Background

Across Germany, the AfD's state branches in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg have already been classified as confirmed right-wing extremist organizations. In May of last year, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) also upgraded the national AfD to a "confirmed right-wing extremist effort." However, after the party filed a legal challenge, the agency suspended the new classification pending judicial review, meaning the AfD remains a "case under suspicion" at the federal level for now.

Amid debates over a potential ban on the AfD, Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens called for a unified approach from the Bundestag, Bundesrat, and federal government. She emphasized that a ban procedure initiated by individual states via the Bundesrat alone would be "unproductive." Instead, she urged all democratic parties and the federal interior minister to thoroughly and impartially analyze the intelligence agencies' findings and await upcoming court rulings before taking further steps.

The reclassification as an "object of surveillance of significant importance" in Lower Saxony enables "more intrusive intelligence-gathering measures," according to the state interior ministry. The legal framework for such actions is defined in the state's domestic intelligence laws, and all prerequisites for surveillance have been met.

The AfD currently holds 17 seats in Lower Saxony's state parliament. In the 2022 state election, it won 11 percent of the vote, making it the fourth-largest party after the SPD, CDU, and Greens. The next scheduled state election in Lower Saxony is set for autumn 2027.