In January 2024, Bavarian school principal Roland Feucht publicly urged people to join a demonstration for democracy and social diversity at his school.
But his call had consequences. Several members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) presented a so-called proposal Small request In the Bavarian state parliament, Feucht and other school principals were accused of violating the political neutrality required of those working for the state. The legislator asked whether the Bavarian state government would initiate disciplinary action against the principal.
Feucht stood by his actions, and the Bavarian state government found no reason to criticize his conduct. Nevertheless, Simone Fleischmann, chairwoman of the Bavarian teachers’ union, argued that the political consequences were significant: “Every one of those questions, as a teacher, forces you to stop,” she told the political TV magazine Contrasts.. “As a teacher, it makes you wonder: Should I be doing this? Am I stepping into dangerous territory? Because that’s when I know I could be criticized.”
Fear among teachers in Germany
There are more and more reports of alleged attempts by the AfD to use parliamentary questions to intimidate people. For example, according to public broadcaster NDR, refugee aid workers said they felt the AfD was “breathing down their necks”. Across the country, researchers, unions, churches and parties are warning that the AfD is abusing its right to ask official questions to intimidate political opponents.
small requests Formal written questions – submitted by members of parliament to both state and federal governments – are among Germany’s most important democratic instruments.
They enable the opposition to monitor the work of the government, and since answers to questions have to be made public, inquiries force the executive branch to disclose data and facts related to its policies. In Germany, politicians from all parties make extensive use of this right, and the resulting inquiries often cause significant public debate.
What is shocking, however, is that the AfD is submitting an even greater number of them. For example, between March and October 2025 alone, the party submitted 525 such questions to the federal parliament, or Bundestag – more than two per day, and nearly two-thirds of all parliamentary questions. The figures are skyrocketing even at the state level.
AfD in Thuringia: pressure on civil society?
The AfD fields a large number of inquiries in the state of Thuringia, one of the party’s strongholds, where Björn Hocke, one of the party’s most prominent politicians, heads his state parliamentary group. Hocke is considered one of the AfD’s more radical voices, and has been convicted twice of using slogans associated with Adolf Hitler’s SA, a criminal offense in Germany. The AfD’s Thuringia branch is classified as “confirmed right-wing extremist” by German security authorities.
Thuringian state MP Catharina König-Preis, of the Socialist Left party, sees a strategy behind the flood of AfD questions. She comes from a prominent civil rights family in the former East Germany. His late father, Lothar König, fought against the authoritarian communist state, against right-wing extremism and against anti-Semitism.
König-Preis says he is often extensively insulted, defamed and even attacked by the AfD.
“Anyone who has spoken out against the AfD becomes the subject of a flood of questions,” he told DW.
In principle, the AfD has the same right to table questions as any other elected party. However, she questions the intentions behind them: “For one thing, they try to obtain names and data of individuals and organizations from civil society. This can lead to attacks on those individuals.”
She also believes that many of the questions target minorities.
“What is really extreme are the questions in which the AfD attempts to find out how many people living in Thuringia identify as gay or lesbian. And this brings back memories of dark times.”
By this he means the period under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi rule, when Germany officially recorded, registered and persecuted all Jews, Sinti and Roma – and homosexuals.
Some civil society groups are also feeling the consequences of the AfD’s parliamentary questions. An example is the Amadeu Antonio Foundation in Berlin, which campaigns against racism and anti-Semitism and receives funding from the state. The Foundation openly criticizes the AfD – and is therefore a thorn in the side of the party.
According to foundation spokesperson Lorenz Blumenthaler, the AfD has submitted several parliamentary questions regarding the organization, most of them focused on its public funding.
“They paint a picture of a conspiracy between the government and the so-called ‘deep state’ – in which the government and NGOs are working hand in hand on a shared political agenda,” Blumenthaler told DW.
He highlights the consequences of this barrage of questions: “First, the purpose is to create a perception among the broader public that there is something wrong with these non-profit organizations.”
We asked whether he thought the AfD was doing this successfully. His answer: “Absolutely.”
DW also sought to talk to the AfD’s Bundestag parliamentary group about the use of parliamentary question rights. However, our request for an interview remained unanswered by its press office.
AfD: Spying for Russia?
The most serious accusation against AfD parliamentary practices was issued by Thuringia Interior Minister Georg Meier of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). In an interview with a German daily, HandelsblattIn October 2025, he said that there were signs that the AfD was abusing the rights to ask parliamentary questions to benefit Russia. According to the Interior Minister, the AfD deliberately abuses these powers to investigate German critical infrastructure.
The AfD has also submitted inquiries at the federal level regarding transport infrastructure, water and energy supply and digital infrastructure. Thomas Rovekamp (CDU), chairman of the Bundestag’s defense committee, has also accused the AfD of obtaining sensitive information about the country’s defense capabilities.
König-Preis also views such AfD inquiries critically: “What does such information about critical infrastructure do? There is no indication that the AfD presents proposals to better equip the police or disaster-response services.”
AfD politicians have often been criticized for their closeness to Russia. Several high-ranking members of the party are suspected of receiving money from Kremlin-related networks. Two lawmakers – one from the German Bundestag and one from the European Parliament – are currently being investigated by Russia and China over bribery allegations.
The AfD sharply rejects all spying allegations issued by Thuringia’s interior minister, and points to its democratic rights to hold the government accountable.
This article was originally written in German.