In January 2024, Bavarian school principal Roland Feucht publicly urged people to join a demonstration for democracy and social diversity at his school. Several members of the far‑right Alternative for Germany (AfD) responded by submitting a Kleine Anfrage in the Bavarian state parliament, accusing Feucht and other school principals of breaching the political neutrality expected of state employees and asking whether the government would initiate disciplinary action. The Bavarian government declined to criticize Feucht, but Simone Fleischmann, chair of the Bavarian teachers’ association, warned of the chilling effect: “Every one of those questions makes you, as a teacher, pause… Should I do this? Am I stepping into dangerous territory? Because that’s what it is when I know I might be denounced.”
Reports are growing across Germany that the AfD is using parliamentary questions to intimidate people. Refugee support workers said they felt the AfD was “breathing down their necks,” according to public broadcaster NDR. Researchers, associations, churches and parties warn the party is misusing its right to ask official questions to target political opponents.
Kleine Anfragen — formal written questions submitted by MPs to state and federal governments — are a key democratic tool in Germany. They let the opposition monitor government work and force public disclosure of data and facts, often sparking important debates. Politicians from all parties use them extensively. What is striking is the AfD’s sheer volume: between March and October 2025 the party submitted 525 such questions to the federal parliament, the Bundestag — more than two per day and nearly two‑thirds of all parliamentary questions. The numbers are also surging at state level.
Thuringia, an AfD stronghold where Björn Höcke leads the state parliamentary group and which has been labelled “confirmed right‑wing extremist” by security authorities, sees a particularly high number of inquiries. Katharina König‑Preuss, a Thuringian Left party parliamentarian, says there’s a clear strategy: anyone who speaks out against the AfD is inundated with questions. She argues the party often seeks names and data on individuals and associations in civil society, which can expose them to attacks. She also claims many questions target minorities, citing AfD attempts to find out how many people in Thuringia identify as gay or lesbian — a line of questioning she says recalls Germany’s darkest periods under Nazi rule.
Civil society groups also feel the pressure. The Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which campaigns against racism and antisemitism and receives state funding, has been the subject of numerous AfD questions, many probing its public funding. The foundation’s spokesperson, Lorenz Blumenthaler, says the AfD paints a picture of a conspiracy between government and NGOs, aiming to create the impression that these nonprofits are part of a coordinated political agenda. “Above all, the aim is to create an impression among the broader public that something is wrong with these nonprofit organizations,” he told DW. When asked whether the AfD is succeeding, his answer was blunt: “Absolutely.”
DW sought comment from the AfD’s Bundestag parliamentary group about its questioning practices but received no reply from its press office.
More serious are allegations that the AfD is misusing parliamentary questions to benefit foreign powers. In October 2025 Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) told Handelsblatt there were indications the AfD was deliberately probing German critical infrastructure through its inquiries. The party has submitted federal questions about transport infrastructure, water and energy supply, and digital infrastructure. Thomas Röwekamp (CDU), chair of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, has accused the AfD of obtaining sensitive information about Germany’s defense capabilities.
König‑Preuss questions the purpose of such inquiries: “What happens with this kind of information about critical infrastructure? There is no indication that the AfD then submits motions to better equip the police or disaster‑response services.” AfD politicians have long faced criticism for ties to Russia; several senior members are suspected of links to Kremlin‑related networks. Two parliamentarians — one in the Bundestag and one in the European Parliament — are under investigation on bribery charges involving Russia and China.
The AfD rejects espionage accusations and points to its democratic right to hold the government accountable. Still, politicians, civil society and security officials remain concerned that the party’s extensive use of Kleine Anfragen is less about oversight and more about intimidation, public smearing and, possibly, gathering information that could be exploited by hostile actors.
This article was originally written in German.