Victor Davis Hanson opened with a warning—and it wasn’t subtle.
This week, Germany’s only major right-wing opposition party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), was officially labeled an “extremist” group by the country’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV.
The designation sent shockwaves through the political landscape.
AfD immediately challenged it in court, prompting the agency to suspend enforcement while litigation proceeds.
But the damage, Hanson said, has already been done.
This move, he argued, wasn’t about public safety—it was about political control.
“Recently, the German government announced that it is going to label or maybe relabel the Alternative for Deutschland,” Hanson explained.
“The conservative party that has an antithetical agenda both to the German government of both liberal and conservative factions, but also to the EU in general.”
He said the classification ensures AfD will remain on the outside of political power, regardless of how many people support them.
“It will cemen…