German intelligence says almost half of AfD party members potential far-right extremists

Government report estimates 28,000 of Alternative for Germany’s 70,000 members have potential for right-wing extremism, as far-right party outstrips chancellor’s in national polls

BERLIN (Reuters) – The number of Alternative for Germany members who could potentially become far-right extremists has risen by 40 percent, the country’s domestic intelligence service BfV and interior ministry said in a report published on Tuesday.

The report, covering 2025, found that the far-right AfD showed no signs of moderating positions that draw scrutiny from the intelligence services.

Some 28,000 of the AfD’s about 70,000 members were considered to have the potential for right-wing extremism, up from 20,000 the year before, it said.

The AfD has pulled ahead of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives in national opinion polls and is far ahead of any other party in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where it could win power for the first time in a September election.

The AfD rejects the accusations that its views are extremist and has said the intelligence service’s assessments are politically motivated.

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The BfV, which monitors extremist threats primarily through analysis of public statements and activities, defines extremism as efforts directed against Germany’s free democratic constitutional order.

Tuesday’s report found no indications that the party had over the past year distanced itself from the positions that concern the BfV’s authorities.

Those positions include the party’s espousal of an ethnic ancestry-based conception of the German people that courts have determined is incompatible with the constitution, it said.

The report cited comments by Bjoern Hoecke, the party’s leader in the eastern state of Thuringia, who referred to a UN resettlement program as “population replacement.”

Such comments are part of a process of “ideological homogenization,” with liberal-conservative positions in the party scarcely expressed in public, it said.

Right-wing extremism remains the greatest threat to democracy in Germany, the report said.

The authors highlighted an increasing number of younger people being attracted to right-wing extremism, especially online, as well as better networking and an increased shift toward violence among extremists as particularly alarming.

“From within, we face pressure from extremism of all stripes – in the digital space just as much as on the streets,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.

Outside threats include sabotage and espionage, particularly from Russia, said BfV Vice President Sinan Selen.

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