Fears about the AfD's access to classified information in Germany

According to the French weekly of investigations

The projection of an Alternative for Germany (AfD) government in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt has dramatically intensified long-standing concerns about the possibility of the far-right group, known for its sympathy for Russia, gaining access to classified data. This outlook has fueled a heated debate about the mechanisms by which the party could be excluded from the sensitive information circuit.

The situation suddenly became urgent for both Berlin and its Western partners, after regional elections placed the German far right on the threshold of power for the first time since the end of World War II. In September, the AfD won a clear victory in Saxony-Anhalt and is now trying to form a governing coalition in this eastern state, one of the sixteen federal entities that enjoy extensive powers within the German political system.

If this maneuver succeeds, the Moscow-friendly party could have access to information collected by the intelligence services that track both internal and external threats. Such a prospect has alarmed public officials at a time when tensions are rising following the conflict in Ukraine and the increase in hybrid attacks attributed to the Russian Federation.

According to the French weekly of investigations and satire, Canard Enchaîné, these fears were high enough that the French domestic intelligence agency notified the German counterpart last week. The Paris Agency intends to retain sensitive information about right-wing extremists and Russia if the AfD governs Saxony-Anhalt.

The German internal intelligence service, the Federal Constitutional Protection Circle (BfV), has consistently ranked right-wing extremists as the greatest threat to German democracy. Its annual report, published in June, indicated that their number had increased significantly to 58,700 in the previous year, a trend fueled by the wave of support for the AfD.

The previous year, the BfV sparked controversy when it labeled the AfD as a „right-wing extremist group”, although this classification was suspended in February after the party challenged it in court. Although the national formation is now considered a 'suspect extremist', pending a court decision, its local section in Saxony-Anhalt is labelled as 'confirmed extremist'. This status means it's being monitored by federal intelligence, including undercover agents.

An even greater concern for Germany

German officials fear that an AfD government in the eastern state could use the usual exchange of information to identify these agents and sabotage surveillance efforts, explained Jacob Ross, a senior researcher at the German Foreign Affairs Council. „If the AfD takes over the portfolio of the Interior Ministry, responsible for police and intelligence, it would potentially have access to their own surveillance files”, Ross detailed. He pointed out that one of the great fears in the intelligence community, and more broadly in German politics, is that the party would quickly try to find out who among its ranks is spying on them.

An even greater concern for Germany and its allies is the possibility that sensitive information about the security arrangements of Germany, the European Union and NATO could fall into Russian hands. Prior to the election in Saxony-Anhalt, the Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, told the German newspaper Bild that he opposed sharing classified information with AfD officials if they entered regional governments. He stressed that the party's close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin are unquestionable.

The far-right party has repeatedly triggered alarms in Berlin by requesting information about German and NATO defence vulnerabilities, issues that would be of interest to Russia. In a heated debate in the Bundestag in November last year, a lawyer for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's governing conservatives accused the AfD of housing a Russian sleeping cellintended to investigate Germany's critical infrastructure.

Anton Shekhovtsov, director of the Austrian-based Centre for Democratic Integrity and an expert on the European far right and its ties to Russia, considers that fears of seeing sensitive information in Russian hands are well founded. With Viktor Orban of Budapest out of power, Shekhovtsov maintains that AfD is now the largest and most powerful pro-Russian party in the entire European Union . His argument is based on extensive ties with Russia, built over many years.

The question is what happens when Germany's internal intelligence services are monitored by the very people they're meant to spy on. This once speculative dilemma has reached an unexpected urgency, bringing to light the r