security agencies
Greens: Examine networking of right-wing parties more closely
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) provides information about the new report on right-wing extremists in security agencies. Photo: Britta Pedersen/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
A new report by the Ministry of the Interior reveals the connections of 327 employees of German security authorities to the right-wing scene. But the investigations do not go far enough for the Greens and the Left.
After presenting a status report on right-wing extremists in security agencies, the Greens are calling for possible links to right-wing parties to be investigated.
The parliamentary director of the Greens parliamentary group, Irene Mihalic, told the editorial network Germany (RND): “Right-wing extremism in security authorities was taboo for too long, problems were swept under the carpet.” The report gives an initial overview of the problem, further educational work and raising awareness are necessary.
You go out before a large dark field. It is therefore necessary to pay more attention to the members of right-wing extremist parties. “The networks of the AfD in the security authorities of the federal and state governments must now be processed,” demanded the Greens politician.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior published a situation report on Friday. Accordingly, within three years, 327 employees were noticed among the employees of the security authorities of the federal and state governments who demonstrably have connections to right-wing extremism or to the scene of the so-called Reich citizens and self-governors.
Assumption: Number significantly higher
Like Mihalic, the left suspects that the real number is significantly higher. “The numbers presented with the situation picture of right-wing extremists in the police, army and secret services are likely to be far from the real extent,” said left-wing interior expert Martina Renner to the RND.
“Neither the entire spectrum of the so-called Reich citizens nor the AfD or the New Right are taken into account,” she complained. It also remains unclear to what extent the right-wing extremists identified in the security authorities would have made their resources and connections available to other right-wing extremists outside of these authorities. “So far we’ve seen a few loose ends in the right-wing extremist networks,” Renner said.
Meanwhile, the federal government’s East German representative, Carsten Schneider, has warned against further radicalization of the AfD. “It’s becoming more and more nationalistic,” said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “I also see National Socialist tendencies there: yes, the welfare state – but only for Germans.” Nationwide, the AfD has “passed its zenith”. The party is trying to use the East as the main area of action.