Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been classified as suspected right-wing extremist by the domestic intelligence agency, receives almost 50% of its funding from state coffers, according to new figures.
In 2022, public funding accounted for almost 45% of the AfD's total income, compared to just under 30% for the Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to party accounts published by the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament.
This means that the AfD receives the highest proportion of public funding among all parties represented in the Bundestag.
In absolute terms, the AfD received the lowest level of state funding of all parties in 2022, at €10.4 million ($11.3 million). However, mainly due to very low income from membership fees of around €3.8 million, this amounted to a 44.9% share of total income.
By comparison, the Social Democrats received around €47.7 million in state funding. However, this only accounted for 29.8% of its total income, with membership fees of €54.5 million accounting for 34% of the party's income.
The AfD was founded in 2013 as a primarily Eurosceptic party but has since become known for its far-right positions on immigration.
It has been riding high in the polls in recent months amid discontent over quarrelling within the three-party coalition led by Scholz, with polls suggesting it might emerge the strongest force in three state elections in eastern Germany later this year.
It is also profiting from increased concern among many German voters over rising numbers of immigrants seeking asylum in the country.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Germany after it emerged that some of its members, including a senior official, attended a meeting in November last year where far-right extremists discussed plans to force immigrants - including some with German citizenship - out of the country.
The revelations also sparked a debate about potentially banning the AfD.
Germany's intelligence services classified the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist party in March 2021. The party has taken legal steps against that decision.
According to the 2022 figures, Germany's other main opposition party, the centre-right Christian Democrats, received state funding equivalent of 32.6% of total income. For the liberal Free Democrats, a junior partner in Scholz's governing coalition, that figure stood at 36.9%, while the Greens - the third party in government - received 35.4%.
Partial state funding is based on the valid votes obtained by a party in the last state, federal and European elections. However, there is an absolute and a relative upper limit. The total amount set annually for the state funding of political parties forms the absolute upper limit. In 2023, this was around €187.6 million.
The Political Parties Act also stipulates that the state funding of each party may not exceed the sum of its annual self-generated income - the relative upper limit. This is intended to prevent parties from being predominantly financed by the state.
