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The US secretary of state has slammed Berlin for labeling the biggest opposition party in the country as “extremist”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sharply criticized Berlin for designating the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the country’s most popular party according to recent polling, as “extremist.” These actions have nothing to do with democracy, he has warned.
“Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition,” Rubio wrote on X on Friday. “That’s not democracy – it’s tyranny in disguise.”
Earlier in the day, the German domestic security service (BfV) announced the decision to officially designate AfD a “confirmed extremist entity.” This legal status allows the BfV to deploy surveillance and intelligence measures to monitor the party’s activities without restriction.
Explaining the move, the agency cited “the extremist nature of the entire party, which disregards human dignity.” It pointed to the party’s “prevailing understanding of the people based on ethnicity and descent,” which it said is “incompatible with the democratic basic order.” The AfD has long been known for its strict anti-immigration stance.
“What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD… but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes,” Rubio argued, calling on Berlin to “reverse its course.”
The party has enjoyed support from Washington ever since US President Donald Trump entered the White House for his second term.
US Vice President J.D. Vance strongly criticized politicians who shun parties such as the AfD at the Munich Security Conference in February. US-based billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk has openly expressed support for the party. In January, ahead of the German parliamentary vote, he hosted a livestream on X with AfD co-leader and then-chancellor candidate Alice Weidel.
The party came in second in the election in February, behind the center-right Christian Democrats, which ruled out any coalitions with the AfD. Recent polls show the two parties neck-and-neck, with one poll published by the Forsa Institute putting the AfD one percentage point ahead of their center-right rivals.
