Germany considers classifying data from states under AfD governance

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said the federal government is examining the possibility of restricting access to classified information for state administrations formed by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The move was prompted by the party’s approach to power in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

This was reported by Euractiv and Deutsche Welle, citing the German outlet Bild.

“We are looking very carefully at the question of who we can grant access to classified information. We are obliged to do so, because this concerns the security of our country,” Pistorius said.

The Social Democrat minister expressed concern about the prospect of passing classified data to a state government run by the AfD, citing the party’s ties to Moscow. Pistorius’s remarks came after the AfD concluded its party congress in Erfurt.

Under Germany’s federal system, state governments hold broad powers, including control over police and domestic intelligence services. This means that an AfD state premier and cabinet members would routinely receive classified national security briefings.

The federal government’s concerns are rooted in longstanding complaints about the AfD’s handling of classified materials. An analysis cited by The New York Times found that AfD lawmakers had attempted to obtain classified national security information more than 7,000 times over the past five years through parliamentary inquiries. German officials and EU diplomats accuse the party of systematically probing for information about military transport routes, counter-drone measures, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities — information that security sources fear may have been passed to Russia. Saxony-Anhalt’s domestic intelligence service has designated the state’s AfD branch as a “right-wing extremist” organization.

Elections to the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament are scheduled for September 6. According to the poll aggregator PolitPro, the AfD is leading with approximately 41 percent of the vote — nearly double the CDU’s roughly 23 percent. In April, The New York Times reported that the party could win an outright majority in the parliament — the first time for any far-right party in postwar Germany. Other parties have so far shown no willingness to enter into a coalition with the AfD, but an outright majority would render that barrier irrelevant.