Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is celebrating a court victory after efforts to formally label it a “right-wing extremist group” were temporarily blocked.
In a temporary ruling on Thursday, judges in Cologne stopped Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, from using the extremism designation it placed on the party in May of last year.
AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla called the ruling a “great day for democracy,” and co-head Alice Weidel said the decision “indirectly put a stop to censorship fanatics.”
“Not only is the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution no longer allowed to classify the AfD as ‘confirmed right-wing extremist,’ but the Cologne Administrative Court has also indirectly thrown a spanner in the works for the ban fanatics with its ruling. A major victory not only for the AfD, but also for democracy and the rule of law!” Weidel posted on X earlier this week.
The ruling, which is largely symbolic, will temporarily remove the extremist label. Despite that determination, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Friday that the AfD “remains a suspected case,” meaning Germany’s domestic intelligence agency can still monitor the party. He also noted that the main proceedings in the case will continue, although a final decision could take years.
Until then, the agency may continue using surveillance tools such as wiretapping and paid informants in its monitoring of the AfD.
Polling shows that the AfD could finish first in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September, according to The New York Times. However, because other parties have refused to build coalition governments with the AfD, the party is unlikely to govern unless it wins an outright majority of votes.
