Far-right extremism biggest danger facing German democracy

Thomas Haldenwang has described far-right terrorism and extremism as the biggest danger facing democracy in Germany.

The chief of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) has put part of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) under formal surveillance, whilst his agency has also placed under formal surveillance the far-right AfD party’s most radical faction, Der Flügel (The Wing), which now has about 7,000 members.

The most radical rightwingers in the country number 32,000, 13,000 of which Haldenwang labelled as considered potentially violent. He stressed that recent attacks in Germany meant it was more important than ever to monitor groups that may be inciting hatred.

The AfD has grown and shifted further right since its founding in 2013 and now stands as the largest opposition group in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of Parliament.

Der Flügel was founded by the far-right firebrand Björn Höcke, who has sparked outrage with statements on Germany’s Nazi past, whilst urging a ‘180-degree shift’ in the country’s culture of remembrance.