German Ministry of Foreign Affairs hit back at US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after he criticized the decision to classify the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a “right-wing extremist” organization.
The spat deepened on Friday to embroil the foreign office, Rubio, US Vice President J.D. Vance and tech billionaire Elon Musk. It also occurred at a complicated time for Germany — just days before the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Nazi Germany’s unconditional capitulation.
Plus, a coalition deal between the center-right and center-left parties was just approved, and the German parliament is set to vote next week to elect conservative leader Friedrich Merz as the country’s new chancellor.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Merz has not commented publicly on the intelligence service’s decision.
Oleksii Makeiev, Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, told German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur that he is concerned about AfD’s ties to Russia in light of the classification.
AfD has long faced criticism for Russia-friendly positions and opposes Germany’s stance toward the war in Ukraine. Berlin is Ukraine’s second-biggest weapons supplier after the US.
The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution described the party as a threat to the country’s democratic order, saying it “disregards human dignity” — in particular by what it called “ongoing agitation” against refugees and migrants.
The German domestic intelligence service’s move to classify the AfD, which placed second in national elections in February, as a right-wing extremist group means its officials can now use informants and other tools such as audio and video recordings to monitor its activities nationwide.
However, it also risks fueling the party’s claims of political persecution. Far-right parties have been gaining ground across Europe and the AfD attracts international attention, including support from Musk, who is a close ally of US President Donald Trump.
In his post on Friday, Rubio called on Germany to undo the classification.
“Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy — it’s tyranny in disguise,” he wrote. “What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD — which took second in the recent election — but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes. Germany should reverse course.”
The foreign ministry wrote: “This is democracy,” in a post that replied directly to Rubio.
“This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law,” the foreign office wrote late on Friday. “It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”
Meanwhile, Vance referenced the Cold War in his post on X.
“The AfD is the most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it,” Vance wrote. “The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt — not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment.”
Musk, who owns X, reposted Vance’s comments and added: “Fate loves irony.”