German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has suggested that the federal government may bar state officials from the populist Alternative for Germany party from accessing classified documents.
Despite frequent accusations against the AfD of being anti-democratic, it appears that the establishment coalition government in Berlin is so concerned with how German citizens may vote in state elections this autumn that it is willing to take special measures to undermine elected officials if they happen to be from the wrong political party.
When pressed by the Bild newspaper on whether he would ban AfD officials from receiving classified information if they win state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Defence Minister Pistorius of the left-wing Social Democrats replied that it is “obvious that this must not happen”.
“We are intensively examining the question of who we can grant access to classified information. We are already doing so. We are obligated to do so because it concerns the security of our country, he added.
Pistorius claimed that the party was beholden to Russia, saying: “You only have to listen to the public statements of many, many AfD representatives. Their close ties to Putin are undeniable. The suspicion that there is money coming from Russia is also present.”
Although the AfD does advocate normalising relations with Moscow and, in turn, ending German sanctions and resuming imports of Russian oil and gas, it is by no means alone in such opinions among the German political class.
Indeed, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has made nearly identical statements, yet this has not led for Pistorious to distance himself from Schröder’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Schröder has gone beyond mere comments on Berlin’s policy towards Russia, having joined the boards of joint Russian-German energy firms, including Gazprom.
Other prominent political figures who have expressed similar sentiments to the AfD towards Moscow include the former leader of The Left party, Sahra Wagenknecht, whose BSW party also calls for resuming energy trade with Russia.
Nevertheless, Pistorius has cast the AfD’s position as being outside the bounds of acceptable political discourse, saying that he has the “utmost concern” that the populist party may take state-level power at the Saxony-Anhalt election on September 6th.
Remarkably, the Defence chief attempted to portray the AfD as an enemy of democracy, despite seeking power only through elections, while he advocates for undemocratic means to counter their rising popularity.
“The AfD leaves no doubt about its intentions for our democracy. Therefore, this would be a very, very bad sign. We must be prepared to deal with this even more decisively and counter it,” he said.
This appears to be broadly in line with the establishment’s stance on the AfD, with ongoing attempts being made to ban the poll-topping party outright rather than win the electoral argument against the party.
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