The crackdown on the AfD is an assault on democracy

Germany ’s domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz ( BfV ) has officially classified the right-populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a proven right-wing extremist organisation.

The classification paves the way for an outright ban of the party, which secured a record 20 per cent of the vote in February 's federal elections.

According to some polls, it has since become Germany 's most popular party.

The political class does not see any dissent on migration or multiculturalism as legitimate, leaving the AfD as the only game in town for those who want these issues to be addressed.

If the new government indulges the BfV ’s authoritarian demands, it won’t be saving democracy it will be destroying it, says Sabine Beppler-Spahl .