Attacks on German party members rise, AfD most targeted in 2025

Attacks against members and representatives of German political parties rose sharply in 2025, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) becoming the most targeted party, according to government data seen by dpa.

Police recorded 5,140 politically motivated offences against party representatives or members nationwide last year, up from 3,690 in 2024 and 2,790 in 2023.

The AfD accounted for 1,852 cases, the highest number among all parties. Police attributed most offences against AfD representatives to suspects from the left-wing political spectrum.

Offences targeting Christian Democratic Union (CDU) members, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, also rose sharply. Police recorded 1,171 crimes against CDU representatives in 2025, up from about 420 the previous year. Another 168 offences targeted members of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union.

Members and politicians of the Greens were targeted in 1,005 cases. The number was slightly lower than in the previous two years, when Greens members had been the most affected among Germany's political parties while the party was part of the federal coalition government.

The government said there were 193 violent offences against party representatives in 2025, while so-called speech-related crimes such as incitement, defamation and insults totalled 1,289 cases. Of the violent offences, 121 targeted AfD members.

AfD lawmaker Martin Hess said constant "defamation" and "delegitimization" of the party risked encouraging political violence.