Germany openly hits out at Rubio over AfD comment

Germany’s Foreign Minister sharply rebuked U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after he referred to the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party as an “extremist group.”

Rubio criticized the German government’s decision to expand its domestic intelligence agency’s powers to increase surveillance of local groups, including the AfD.

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

In response, Germany’s Foreign Ministry replied on the same platform: “This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that right-wing extremism needs to be stopped.”

The exchange comes after Germany’s domestic intelligence service officially classified the AfD as a “confirmed rightwing" force.

(QG - Source: The Guardian — Picture : © Unsplash)