this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2023
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Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Elon Musk is under fire after publicly backing a far-right political party in Germany, suggesting the current government should not be re-elected over its position on the current migrant crisis in Europe.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In 2022, it was ruled that the BfV may classify and monitor the entire party as a suspected right-wing extremist group. A corresponding lawsuit by the AfD was dismissed because "there were sufficient factual indications of anti-constitutional efforts within the AfD".[36] On 26 April 2023, the BfV, after four years of investigations into the Young Alternative for Germany, categorized that group as a confirmed extremist organization. This allowed the chief of the BfV Thomas Haldenwang to place the youth wing under even more intensive surveillance than the tapping of phone and the use of undercover agents that had been the case until then.[45][46]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_for_Germany

Just summarizing here. They are right wing extremists that have taken over old Nazi talking points and are gaining popularity with anti immigration, anti climate change and populist propaganda.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

BfV is the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, a domestic intelligence agency, so somewhat comparable to the FBI in the USA.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They're also famous for very much being “blind on the right eye”. They didn't ban the neonazi party “NPD” (for reference: the original Nazi party was the NSDAP) and their last ex boss (Hans-Georg Maaßen) is a far right conspiracy nut.

They've partially come around apparently as they're now watching the AfD (which is far stronger than the NPD ever was) as well as Maaßen.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

BfV cannot ban parties. Only the highest court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) can. The only reason they did not do it was because the NPD has too little meaning to be a thread to the German constitution.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I don't think that comparison is very fitting. The FBI is equivalant to the German Bundespolizei (Federal Police).

The BfV is more like the NSA or the Dept. of homeland security. It's an domestic intelligence agency.