German defense chief opposes sharing intel with AfD

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Sunday said he is in favor of excluding potential far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ministers in state administrations from being included in the sharing of classified information, citing the AfD's close bonds with Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the main reason.

“You only have to listen to the public statements of many, many AfD representatives. Their close ties to Putin are undeniable,” Pistorius said when asked whether he would have reservations about passing classified information to an AfD minister in an interview with German tabloid Bild. “The suspicion that there is money coming from Russia is also present,” said the minister from the Social Democratic Party, SPD. It is “obvious that this must not happen,” he added.

The AfD came in second place in the February 2025 national election with 20.8 percent of the vote, the best showing by a far-right party since World War II. Two eastern states, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, will go to the polls in September. According to German media, the AfD believes its best chance of power in the short term is in Saxony-Anhalt where it could win an outright majority that would allow it to form a state government for the first time.

Pistorius called the possibility of an AfD absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt a cause of “utmost concern.” “The AfD leaves no doubt about its intentions for our democracy. Therefore, this would be a very, very bad sign. We must be prepared to deal with this even more decisively and counter it,” he said.

The AfD is still struggling with scandals. An image, obtained by POLITICO’s Inside AfD podcast, appears to show Martin Reichardt, an AfD member of Germany’s federal parliament, raising his left arm while smiling during a gathering six years ago.