"Not much positive to report": Left and right-wing fringes are radicalizing

Constitutional protection report - "Not much positive to report": Left and right-wing fringes are radicalizing

## Table of Contents

Extremism on the Right
Extremism on the Left
Threat from Islamist Terror Organizations

According to the assessment of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), security and democracy in Germany are currently under significant threat from extremists on the right and left spectrums. The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Thomas Haldenwang, stated during the presentation of the latest annual report of his agency on Tuesday that he had "little good news to report" regarding the security situation in Germany. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said: "We must actively defend our democracy."

The Verfassungsschutz reported an increase in both left-wing and right-wing extremism in the past year. According to the report, the number of individuals classified as left-wing extremists increased by approximately 500 people to around 37,000 people. Around 11,200 left-wing extremists were considered violent in the past year, which was 3.7% more than the previous year.

The development in the right-wing extremist spectrum was similar. The Verfassungsschutz estimates that 14,500 of the approximately 40,600 right-wing extremists are considered violent (2022: 14,000 and 38,800). The parties The Homeland (formerly NPD) and The Right are now assigned fewer members by the intelligence service than before the deadline.

Extremism on the Right

The neo-right Antaios Publishing House of Götz Kubitschek is now being observed as a confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor by the BfV, according to Haldenwang. The higher the classification, the more intensive the application of intelligence agency methods, explains the BfV chief, adding, "of course, all of this within the bounds of proportionality." This is a publishing house that distributes publications with racist, folkish, partly also anti-Semitic, and historically revisionist content.

The AfD is currently being observed as a suspect case by the Verfassungsschutz. According to the Federal Office, approximately 11,300 members of the AfD and its youth organization, Young Alternative (JA), are part of the right-wing extremist potential, with double memberships in the party and JA removed.

In the Verfassungsschutz report for the year 2022, around 10,200 AfD members and JA supporters were listed. To assess the extremist potential within the AfD, the Verfassungsschutz referred to the election and voting results at the Federal Party Congress 2022 in Riesa and statements from party functionaries in the previous report. The current report states: "There is still a – significantly decreasing – heterogeneity within the party, so not all party members can be considered supporters of extremist streams."

The AfD has gained net new members since 2022, according to their own statements. When the Verfassungsschutz reports on the current assessment of the AfD, which is currently being prepared, is still uncertain. "We won't waste our time on that," says Haldenwang. In any case, the Federal Office will wait for what the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Administrative Court states in its written reasons for its judgment in a recent appeal procedure. The court ruled on May 13 that the AfD's observation by the Verfassungsschutz as a suspect case was lawful.

## Extremism among the Left

The radical climate activist group "Ende Gelände" has been designated as a left-extremist suspect case by the Constitutional Protection Agency (Verfassungsschutz). This means that the domestic intelligence service can now use surveillance methods, such as observation or obtaining information from informants (V-people) within the scene, to assess the group's activities. According to the Constitutional Protection Report for the year 2023, there is talk of a "deterioration of actions up to sabotage."

Papers from "Ende Gelände" have been assessed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as showing "clear signs of radicalization in terms of the dominant ideological positions of the group." In April, around 100 activists from the group blocked the Uniper coal-fired power plant Scholven in Gelsenkirchen.

"Ende Gelände" is reportedly organized in 70 local groups. It is said to have branches in all federal states except for Saarland. In response to a journalist's question about what the suspect status means for contacts with the Greens Youth and the Jusos, Faeser replied, "I recommend that they terminate cooperation."

Threat from Islamic State Provincial Command – Khorasan (ISPK)

The Islamic extremist potential remains at a high level with 27,200 people. The greatest threat in this spectrum comes from the Islamic State Provincial Command – Khorasan (ISPK) group, according to the Constitutional Protection Agency (BfV). The ISPK originated in Afghanistan, and its followers are predominantly from Central Asia. The group has managed to rally many supporters and sympathizers, says Haldenwang. The group calls for "major attacks."

Furthermore, Haldenwang brought some bad news: "The ISPK has also managed, possibly through the refugee wave from Ukraine, to bring supporters to Western Europe who are now living in various Western European countries." The intelligence services of the affected states are, however, able to detect "major preparatory activities," such as the acquisition of weapons.

Faeser refers to several arrests in recent months that have prevented potential attacks, as well as efforts by her ministry to deport Islamic extremist threats back to Syria and Afghanistan. Regarding Afghanistan, there are now contacts with the authorities in Uzbekistan. For Syria, "we are talking to neighboring countries," says the Minister, who will have to answer many questions during this week's Interior Ministers' Conference of the Federation and the States in Potsdam.

In light of the current threat situation, an "active, hands-on Interior Minister" is needed, according to the deputy chairwoman of the Union faction, Andrea Lindholz. The CDU politician called on Faeser to ban the Islamic Center Hamburg.

Verfassungsschutz Chief: Freedom of Opinion Has Limits

Although freedom of opinion in Germany is a high value, the Constitutional Protection Agency (Verfassungsschutz) must also deal with the clarification of tendencies even below the threshold of criminal law, says Haldenwang. As an example, he cites the latest demonstrations of Islamists in Hamburg, where the caliphate was praised as a desirable form of government.

A whole chapter of the report, which is over 400 pages long, bears the title "Impacts of the Middle East Conflict and Antisemitism". Haldenwang states that the threat against Jews and Jewish people has grown "unbearable". Faeser emphasizes that the security authorities are "actively combating any form of anti-Israeli and antisemitic incitement".

The AfD, a right-wing political party in Germany, is currently being observed as a suspect case by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
Thomas Haldenwang, the President of the BfV, revealed that around 11,300 members of the AfD and its youth organization, Young Alternative (JA), are part of the right-wing extremist potential.
The development in the right-wing extremist spectrum was similar, with approximately 14,500 of the approximately 40,600 right-wing extremists being considered violent by the BfV.
The radical climate activist group "Ende Gelände" has been designated as a left-extremist suspect case by the Constitutional Protection Agency (Verfassungsschutz).
The Islamic extremist potential remains at a high level in Germany, with the Islamic State Provincial Command – Khorasan (ISPK) posing the greatest threat, according to the Constitutional Protection Agency (BfV).