Germany defends AfD extremist classification after Rubio slams 'tyranny in disguise'

Germany's Foreign Office has defended a determination to classify the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) enactment arsenic right-wing extremist, aft crisp disapproval from the White House.

US Vice-President JD Vance accused "bureaucrats" of rebuilding the Berlin Wall, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed the designation arsenic "tyranny successful disguise".

In an antithetic move, the overseas bureau straight replied to Rubio connected X, writing: "We person learnt from our past that right-wing extremism needs to beryllium stopped."

The quality bureau that made the classification recovered AfD's "prevailing knowing of radical based connected ethnicity and descent" goes against Germany's "free antiauthoritarian order".

The AfD came 2nd successful national elections successful February, winning a grounds 152 seats successful the 630-seat parliament with 20.8% of the vote.

The agency, Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), had already classed the AfD arsenic right-wing extremist successful 3 eastbound states wherever its popularity is highest. Now, that designation has been extended to the full party.

The AfD "aims to exclude definite colonisation groups from adjacent information successful society", it said successful a statement. The bureau said specifically that the enactment did not see citizens "from predominantly Muslim countries" arsenic adjacent members of the German people.

Joint enactment leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said the determination was "clearly politically motivated" and a "severe stroke to German democracy".

Beatrix von Storch, the party's lawman parliamentary leader, told the BBC's Newshour programme that the designation was "the mode an authoritarian state, a dictatorship, would dainty their parties".

• AfD classified arsenic extreme-right by German intelligence

The caller classification gives authorities greater powers to show the AfD utilizing tactics similar telephone interception and undercover agents.

"That's not ideology - it's tyranny successful disguise," wrote Marco Rubio connected X.

But the German Foreign Office deed back.

"This is democracy," it wrote, straight replying to the politician's X account.

The station said the determination had been made aft a "thorough and autarkic investigation" and could beryllium appealed.

"We person learnt from our past that right-wing extremism needs to beryllium stopped," the connection concluded - a notation to Hitler's Nazi enactment and the Holocaust.

JD Vance, who met Weidel successful Munich 9 days earlier the predetermination and utilized a code to the Munich Security Conference to amusement enactment for the AfD, said that "bureaucrats" were trying to destruct the party.

"The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt - not by the Soviets oregon the Russians, but by the German establishment," helium wrote connected X.

The Berlin Wall, built successful 1961, separated East and West Berlin for astir 30 years during the Cold War.

The caller designation has reignited calls to prohibition the AfD up of a ballot adjacent week successful the parliament, oregon Bundestag, to corroborate blimpish person Friedrich Merz arsenic chancellor. He volition beryllium starring a conjugation with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

Lars Klingbeil, the SPD person who is expected to go vice-chancellor and concern minister, said that portion nary hasty determination would beryllium made, the authorities would see banning the AfD.

"They privation a antithetic country, they privation to destruct our democracy. And we indispensable instrumentality that precise seriously," helium told Bild newspaper.