In November 2023, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the AfD branch in Saxony-Anhalt as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation. According to the agency, the classification was based on numerous anti-Muslim, racist and antisemitic statements made by party officials and elected representatives. The AfD is challenging the classification in court; the proceedings are currently suspended.
Minister-President Sven Schulze (CDU) reiterated that he would not cooperate with the AfD. The CDU’s lead candidate told MDR that he would form a coalition neither with the AfD nor with the Left Party. Ministers from either party would have no place in a cabinet led by him.
Security officials have warned about a possible AfD election victory. A security expert told Tagesspiegel that the prospect of the AfD gaining control of the entire Interior Ministry, including the police and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, would be a “worst-case scenario” for constitutional-protection officials across Germany. An organisation classified as extremist would then have access to security-sensitive files.
However, there is consensus within the AfD that the agency must not be used to monitor the opposition or “to create a certain mood, because that is what we currently have,” Siegmund said. “Who doubts that?” He argued that this was obvious. “The purpose of this Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been rendered completely absurd. It monitors the opposition and is being used as a political instrument,” the AfD politician said.
The Interior Ministry in Magdeburg has repeatedly rejected these accusations, maintaining that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution operates in accordance with the law.