🇩🇪 Politicians in Berlin are looking for legal solutions to cutoff the AfD's access to classified information in case they win they win the next federal election

The measures according to their proponents are justified because the AfD "will leak" said classified information to Russia and China

According to French investigative and satirical weekly Canard Enchaîné, such concerns were enough for France’s domestic intelligence agency to notify its German counterpart last week of its plans to withhold sensitive information about far-right extremists and Russia should the AfD govern in Saxony-Anhalt.

However the biggest fear of the German establishment is that the AfD would use the classified information and control over Germany's intelligence agency (BND) to find out the BND spies inside its ranks.

The AfD was put under surveillance by the government in Berlin the moment it was labelled as "extremist" and thus a "threat" to German democracy.

Fears of classified NATO information ending up in Russian hands through the AfD are "well founded" according to the Austria-based Centre for Democratic Integrity who says that the AfD is the "biggest pro-Russian party in Europe" now that Viktor Orbán and Fidesz were ousted from power.

There are precedents for European countries restricting access to intelligence when dealing with far-right parties that are seen as cozying up to Russia. One notable example is Orbán's Hungary, which France accused of “betraying” the EU by leaking information to Moscow, just weeks before the longtime nationalist leader was voted out of power.

Austria also came under intense scrutiny after the rightwing Freedom Party (FPO) joined a coalition government in 2017 and secured the interior ministry portfolio, leading some European partners to place limits on intelligence sharing.

“The perception at the time was that Austrian security and intelligence services were deeply penetrated by Russia,” said Ross. “Those in Germany who argue in favour of excluding AfD from information flows often point to the Austrian case, warning that Germany could also lose its reputation as a trustworthy ally when it comes to intelligence-sharing mechanisms.”

Such limitations could pose logistical challenges should AfD continue its ascent at the regional level, warned Ross, pointing to the specificities of Germany’s federal system. Just days after triumphing in Saxony-Anhalt, the party also topped elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, underscoring its dominance in swaths of the country.

In the event of a major crisis, “keeping AfD-run states in the dark could create holes in operational plans”, he said. “Because while the army and the defence of German territory are within the purview of the federal government, the police forces needed to secure roads, convoys and power stations are the responsibility of individual states.”

Another long-term problem, added Lomas, is that such limitations breed mistrust between security services, elected officials and the broader public, while also posing problems of democracy

“Even if you find a practical way to work around the AfD, doing this is corrosive at a time when public trust in liberal Western democracies is already under threat,” he said.

🔗 https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260927-russian-sleeper-cell-can-germany-far-right-afd-be-barred-from-sensitive-intelligence