The Munich public prosecutor’s office is examining whether to apply for the lifting of the immunity of the Bavarian AfD leader and member of the Bundestag Stephan Protschka. This was confirmed by a spokesman on Tuesday when asked by SZ. The reason for this step is a complaint under Section 188 of the Criminal Code that Bavaria’s Prime Minister and CSU leader Markus Söder made against Protschka. The paragraph includes “insult, slander and defamation directed against persons in political life”. In a speech on the political Ash Wednesday in February, the AfD boss had insulted Söder, among other things, as a “traitor” and “Södolf”.
If a member of the Bundestag is reported, the judiciary can only investigate him if the Bundestag has lifted his immunity. According to the rules of procedure of the Bundestag, the immunity is not lifted “if the insult is of a political nature and does not constitute defamation”. The crucial question is whether the public prosecutor defines Protschka’s statements as defamation. A spokesman did not provide any information.
The AfD man defended his words in a statement as “polemics” and accused Söder of “thin skin”. The Prime Minister had previously also filed a complaint against the Austrian FPÖ politician Gerald Grosz, also for statements made on Ash Wednesday.