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The AfD in Hamburg has criticized the classification of the entire party as a suspected right-wing extremist case by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as "clearly politically motivated".
This decision a few days before the state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate is legally open to attack, "and we will exhaust all legal means," announced Hamburg's AfD boss Dirk Nockemann on Wednesday.
The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, had previously informed the state offices for the protection of the constitution according to dpa information on Wednesday in an internal video conference about the classification of the AfD.
This means that the party can now also be spied on using intelligence means.
Due to ongoing legal proceedings, the Federal Office is currently not making public statements on the question of the AfD's assessment.
Hamburg's protection of the constitution did not want to comment on the classification either.
A spokesman told the German Press Agency, however, that the AfD regional association is currently not an object of observation.
Nonetheless, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is keeping a close eye on the formally dissolved, right-wing extremist AfD sub-structure “Der Flügel”, in particular with regard to “to what extent wing supporters control or shape the Hamburg AfD”.
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According to the spokesman, there are currently around 40 people in the "wing" in Hamburg.
In addition, there are close connections between the leading figures of the local “lateral thinking” offshoot and right-wing extremists from the circle of organizers of the “Michel wake up” protest series and the “wing” supporters.
"The Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution will keep a very close eye on this development in the future."
The "slouch hats" made themselves the vicarious agents of politics and the media, but Nockemann criticized them.
"This instrumentalization of the secret service is unbearable and a threat to our democracy." The AfD as a political opponent should be eliminated by all means, "but they will not succeed".
The CDU parliamentary group in the Hamburg citizenship welcomed the decision by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
"The development of the last few years, which shows the influence of the nationalist and right-wing extremist wing on the entire AfD and its shift to the right as a whole, suggests from our point of view that the decision of the constitution protection is comprehensible and the nationwide observation of the AfD is necessary", said Dennis Gladiator, domestic policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group.
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However, this decision is expressly not a political decision, but a decision that is made solely on the basis of the rule of law and strictly on the basis of our laws.
The protection of the constitution protects our constitution from all enemies!
"Observation is not a solution"
For the Hamburg left, however, the observation does not go far enough.
"For us, the AFD is neither a test case nor a suspected case: it undoubtedly represents right-wing extremist positions and, through its right-wing propaganda, prepares the ground for misanthropic ideologies," said Deniz Celik, domestic political spokesman for Die Linke.
Celik: “Monitoring by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is not a solution.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution has proven often enough that it is neither able nor willing to seriously contain the danger posed by right-wing extremists. "
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Celik called for people not to trust the protection of the constitution in the fight against the right, but to take action themselves: “We need a broad social alliance in the fight against the Nazis and right-wing populists on the streets and in parliaments.
The best protection of the constitution is an anti-fascist civil society. "
"Just the tip of the iceberg"
"The right-wing extremist actors in the party are still active in the AfD after the disintegration of the 'wing' without consequences," said the SPD parliamentary group.
“In the federal government and also in Hamburg, important positions continue to be filled with followers.
In Hamburg alone, 40 persons known to the authorities are assigned to this spectrum.
But that's only the tip of the iceberg, ”said domestic policy spokesman Sören Schumacher.
“With the use of intelligence resources, numerous other findings on the party's loyalty to the constitution will emerge in the coming months.
The true character of the AfD is now being relentlessly revealed, ”said Schumacher.
Danial Ilkhanipour, expert of the SPD parliamentary group on the fight against right-wing extremism, added: “In the past few months, the AfD has desperately tried to create a bourgeois facade.
The decision of the protection of the Constitution to classify the party not only as a test case, but even as a suspected case, shows that this deception was unsuccessful. "
Ilkhanipour: "With what we already know today, it is clear: Whoever votes for the AfD strengthens right-wing extremism in our country.
With the classification as a suspected case, the Federal Republic is sending an important sign of defensibility to protect our democracy. "