Rising Extremism: AfD's Far-Right Shift Alarms Germany

A report by Germany's intelligence service BfV reveals a 40% rise in potential far-right extremists within the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, totaling 28,000. The party remains under scrutiny for extremist views and shows no signs of moderating. Concerns include increased youth attraction and online radicalization.

The domestic intelligence service, BfV, alongside Germany's interior ministry, reported a worrying 40% increase in Alternative for Germany (AfD) members potentially becoming far-right extremists. According to the 2025 report released Tuesday, the number of such members has escalated from 20,000 to 28,000 over the past year.

The report highlights growing concerns as the AfD continues to hold extremist views that draw intense scrutiny from intelligence services. Despite this, the party denies the extremist label and argues that the intelligence service's assessments are driven by political bias. With increasing polls showing the AfD surpassing Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives, especially in Saxony-Anhalt, the implications are alarming for upcoming elections.

The BfV's findings underline the party's troubling stance on ethnic ancestry-based ideas, incompatible with the German constitution, as noted in comments by Thuringia's AfD leader Bjoern Hoecke. The report warns of a growing attraction among young people to right-wing extremism, especially online, with significant implications for the democratic fabric of Germany.