Ex-AfD secretary unpacks: Right-wing extremism is reality!”

Ex-AfD secretary unpacks: Right-wing extremism is reality!”

A bitter blow for the AfD Miesbach: Gabriel Sack, who until recently steered the party's fortunes as secretary, has announced his resignation after 20 months. The reason for this are serious allegations that affect the party itself. Sack speaks openly about the perception of right-wing extremism, homophobia, anti-Semitism and xenophobia within the AfD. His decision came after a particularly critical incident: a contemptuous Instagram post by a Lower Saxony AfD member of the state parliament about a gay couple with a child was the last straw. Sack had publicly taken a stand against this post and even suggested a party expulsion process for such incitement.

As Merkur reports, Sack was surprised by the reactions of his own district association. Instead of receiving support, he was discredited by the board. They even demanded that his login details be handed over and threatened to delete his account - a clear sign of how strong the influence of the right wing, around Björn Höcke, is within the party. Sack originally defended the party because of its basic program, but now he realizes that often all that remains is a facade.

Right-wing extremism under the microscope

The AfD is now classified as “certainly right-wing extremist” by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). The basis for this assessment is an internal report by the BfV, which highlights the extremist character of the entire party that disregards human dignity. Right-wing extremism researchers point out that the AfD propagates an ethnic and descent-based understanding of the people that is incompatible with the free, democratic basic order. The party views many German citizens with a migration history from Muslim-dominated countries as inferior, which contributes to the consolidation of prejudices, as the Tagesschau reports.

The report consistently states that attitudes within the AfD violate the principle of human dignity, the principle of democracy and the principle of the rule of law. The most impressive examples include problematic statements by party members on topics such as multiculturalism and so-called “remigrations”, which promote generalized portrayals of people with a migration background.

Rapid increase in right-wing extremist activity

The numbers are alarming. According to the current report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the potential for right-wing extremism rose to around 50,250 people at the end of 2024, an increase of more than 23 percent compared to the previous year. Violent right-wing extremists now make up around 15,300 people. Over 37,000 right-wing extremist criminal and violent crimes were recorded, which corresponds to an increase of 47.4 percent compared to 2023.

So far, the classifications in federal states such as Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt have apparently not had a negative impact on the AfD's election results. In the last federal election, the AfD achieved 20.8 percent and remains the largest opposition party in the Bundestag.

Against this background, the AfD district association plans to draw up a list for the district council elections and for the city of Tegernsee, with nominations on December 14th in Miesbach. It remains questionable whether Sack, who now wants to shed light on the dark side of his former party, will play a role in this. His original plan to sit on the Miesbach city council for the 2026 local elections is off the table for the time being.

How developments will continue and whether the AfD will change course remains to be seen. The situation remains tense and shows once again that there is often more going on behind the scenes in politics than it seems.