An AfD member has claimed that the event’s organizers were allegedly impressed by the party’s ties to the US administration
One member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has told Politico that the party had to use “pressure,” including by mentioning its contacts with the US administration, to obtain an invitation to this year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC).
The party, which is known for its anti-migrant rhetoric and calls for Berlin to halt sending military aid to Ukraine, had been barred from attending the event for three years as the conference’s former chair labeled it “a right-wing extremist” organization. The policy was reversed in December under interim head Wolfgang Ischinger.
According to Heinrich Koch, one of the three AfD MPs who received invitations, the party was only able to secure them “because we made an impression with our contacts to the Americans.”
The US administration criticized the so-called “firewall against the far-right” policy employed by mainstream German parties to prevent the AfD from entering government, despite its rapidly increasing popularity. Last year, US Vice President J.D. Vance stated during his speech at the conference that “there is no room for firewalls.”
Koch claimed he informed the MSC representatives that they could simply attend the conference this year as guests of the US delegation.
The MSC itself denied that threats involving the US influenced its decision. Ischinger told Politico that the organizers had to decide “on our own conscience” to “reflect the current reality.”
“It would be very difficult for the Munich Security Conference… to justify categorically excluding the largest German opposition party,” he said, adding that it was “the right thing” to do.
The party has faced growing scrutiny from the authorities. In May 2025, the German domestic security service (BfV) classified it as an “extremist” organization, which enables the police to closely monitor the party’s activities.
The AfD remained the most popular opposition party throughout 2025 following the February elections, where it received 20% of the vote, placing second to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc. Its popularity has since increased, with the latest polls indicating that it is supported by around 25% of Germans, on par with the CDU/CSU.