Germany’s interior minister lauded the ruling by asserting the BfV had tools to protect the state from extremism and that “it is precisely these tools which will now be deployed.” Eurasia Group’s Jan Techau notes that, though we shouldn’t expect a sudden flurry of (surveillance) activity to emerge, “this ruling will not be lost on agencies in other federal states who now might feel emboldened to increase their activities.”
The verdict, from the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia, one of Germany’s largest states, also applies to the party’s youth organization and a group inside the party known as the “Wing.” It cannot be appealed.
This major legal defeat is the latest in a series of setbacks for AfD, which has at times polled as one of Germany’s most popular political parties. Multiple scandals, including charges that one senior party official had spied for China while others had ties to white nationalists, have weighed heavily on the AfD’s approval numbers in recent weeks.
In this episode of ask ian, Ian Bremmer explains why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky enters his latest White House meeting with President Trump in a stronger position than he did just a few months ago.
Competitive pay. 401(k) contributions upon employment and 6% company match once eligible. Up to 16 weeks of combined paid maternity and parental leave. These benefits and more inspire generations – Daidrian’s 18-year Walmart journey motivated her son Jonothan to launch his own career as a Walmart associate. Learn more.
US consumers have spent nearly $74 billion more on gasoline and diesel since the war in Iran began in February
Last week, Microsoft joined more than 100 companies to publish an open letter on the importance of open-weight AI models in expanding access to AI and giving organizations greater control over the technology they use. The paper draws parallels to the open-source software movement, positioning open-weight models as an important foundation for a broad and competitive AI ecosystem while emphasizing the need for responsible safeguards. Read the letter here.