Rubio urges Germany to 'reverse course' after AfD labelled extremist

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has condemned a classification of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as "confirmed right-wing extremist" by domestic intelligence, calling on the country to "reverse course."

"Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That's not democracy - it's tyranny in disguise," Rubio wrote on social media platform X.

"What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes," he said."Germany should reverse course."

Germany's domestic intelligence agency on Friday designated the anti-immigration AfD as a confirmed "right-wing extremist" organization that "disregards human dignity" and threatens democracy.

The new classification, which gives the agency broader surveillance power over the AfD, is the result of a comprehensive review, the findings of which are laid out in a 1,100-page internal report.

It comes just days before Germany's new conservative-led government is set to take office under future chancellor Friedrich Merz.