Keeping the report secret was not intended to protect the domestic spy agency from external threats, but to conceal the investigation’s weak foundation from public scrutiny.
First, the German government pushed out an unvetted report to brand the largest opposition party as ‘right-wing extremist.’ Then, they claimed it had to stay secret to protect sensitive sources. Now it turns out they lied: The entire report is based on public information.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, placed the political party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) at the center of national political debate after it, on May 2nd, officially classified the party as a “proven right-wing extremist organization” (gesichert rechtsextrem). This designation, announced with the backing of outgoing Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), is based on a report exceeding 1,100 pages, which was initially kept classified. The institutional rationale was clear: to protect sensitive sources and preserve the agency’s operational methods. However, the official narrative began to unravel when media outlets accessed the full content of the document and published it. Their conclusions are unequivocal: the report contains no classified sources, nor does it include any information that would compromise state security. Rather, the document is an extensive compilation of public statements, social media posts, policy papers, and speeches by party representatives.
