Rubio criticizes Germany over AfD surveillance

WASHINGTON/BERLIN — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday sharply criticized Germany after its domestic intelligence agency officially designated the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a "proven extremist group," enabling expanded state surveillance of the party.

“Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise,” Rubio posted on X.

He defended the AfD, which placed second in recent elections, arguing it is not extremist but merely opposes "the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies."

“Germany should reverse course,” he added.

Germany’s Foreign Office swiftly responded on X, stating: “This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”

Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said its three-year investigation concluded that the AfD promotes ethnically defined citizenship and undermines Germany’s democratic constitutional order.

The designation grants the agency broader survillance powers, including monitoring communications and deploying informants. — Agencies