The leaflet affair involving Deputy Prime Minister and Free Voters leader Hubert Aiwanger has shaken political Bavaria. The Southgerman newspaper had reported at the end of August that a right-wing extremist pamphlet had been found in Aiwanger’s school bag at the end of the 1980s and that he had been punished as the author by his school’s disciplinary committee. Aiwanger also admitted this; after the research was published, his brother surprisingly revealed himself as the alleged author of the leaflet. In addition, classmates had reported on Hubert Aiwanger’s right-wing extremist views during his school days.
From then on there was excitement: some called for Aiwanger’s resignation, others criticized the SZ for its reporting. The minister accuses the editorial team of a “smear campaign” and sees himself as a victim of politically motivated reporting.
Did the SZ actually cross borders or did it just fulfill its journalistic duty? Why was the research published at this time, six weeks before the state election? And why is the leaflet incident still of interest 35 years later? Katja Auer and Sebastian Beck, both of whom have been involved in the research in the SZ editorial team from the very beginning, will talk about this in the Munich Press Club on Wednesday, October 4th at 6 p.m. The conversation will be moderated by Press Club honorary chairman Peter Schmalz.
Information and registration at the Press Club office by email at [email protected]. The event can also can be followed via live stream on YouTube and can still be accessed there afterwards.