The view in Germany that the Trump administration is allied with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been causing some to call for a reevaluation of intelligence sharing between Berlin and Washington. However, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has confirmed that Germany will continue its strategic cooperation with United States intelligence agencies.
The CSU politician emphasized that this partnership remains essential “regardless of the current political situation.”
This does not mean that the German government is not making moves to drive a wedge between the Trump administration and the AfD. In an interview with the news outlet Augsburg Allgemeine, Dobrindt argued that Berlin must change Washington’s perspective on the opposition party.
“We need to make it much clearer in the United States of America that the AfD is also a highly unreliable party for the USA,” he stated.
The minister intends to highlight that the party’s allegiances conflict with American interests. He noted that the AfD is “not only pro-Russian,“ but “also has close ties to China – the USA’s declared main competitor in the struggle for global influence.“
According to Dobrindt, this specific realization has “obviously not yet fully taken hold in the United States.“
Notably, the issue of a ban of the AfD has long been discussed in Germany. The clearly anti-democratic action could lead to a major crisis between Berlin and Washington.
Addressing the possibility of initiating formal ban proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court, Dobrindt expressed personal conviction regarding the party’s nature while remaining cautious about the legal reality.
“Personally, I am convinced that the AfD is a right-wing extremist party – at least in its leadership structures,” Dobrint said. However, he said he is opposed to a ban. “All those who speak of a ban on political parties are themselves unable to provide sufficient reasons for doing so.“
Although that view may change, Remix News reported the difficulties a ban of the AfD would present for his party and the sister Christian Democrats (CDU).
However, that does not mean a ban is entirely off the table. Dobrint is currently waiting for the courts to settle a lawsuit regarding the BfV’s classification of the party as “certainly right-wing extremist.“ He clarified the government’s current stance: “We are awaiting the outcome of the court decision to consider further action.“
Germany cannot entirely cut intelligence sharing with the United States so easily. There are numerous privacy laws that make mass surveillance of Germans extremely difficult for the German intelligence services. That means that much of this work is quietly outsourced to foreign intelligence services, such as the United States and Israel.
However, the U.S. takes issue more with the fact that the powerful domestic spy agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), monitors the AfD for right-wing extremism, U.S. officials have historically viewed the surveillance of a political rival as a potential breach of democratic principles, making a formal ban a potential “test of nails” for transatlantic relations.
Beyond the AfD controversy, the Interior Minister announced plans to significantly “strengthen“ Germany’s security apparatus. He said he intends to transform the BfV into a “real secret service“ which will be “equipped with effective, operational capabilities.“
Parallel to these domestic reforms, Dobrindt confirmed that international cooperation with agencies in the United States and Israel is being further expanded to meet modern security threats.
