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After the violent Corona demonstrations and the riots by left-wing extremists in Leipzig, the Bundestag celebrated a current hour in the fight against extremism. The AfD caused a shake of the head.
By Martin Ganslmeier, ARD capital studio
Right-wing extremists stormed the steps of the Reichstag building with Reich flags; but also left wing extremists wounding police officers with cobblestones in Leipzig: the growing propensity of extremists to use violence against the police and the judiciary has also caused horror in politics. In the German Bundestag there was, therefore, a current hour on this subject.
The CDU and the SPD had submitted a request for the current time under the title: “No tolerance for enemies of democracy: fight extremism, strengthen the police and the judiciary.” The reason for the debate was the partially violent demonstrations against the Corona measures in Berlin at the end of August, as well as the riots by left-wing extremists last weekend in Leipzig.
CDU demands unity in the fight against extremism
The parliamentary secretary of state for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Günter Krings of the CDU, made an appeal on behalf of the Federal Government: All democratic forces in Germany must always be united in the fight against extremists. The federal government is fighting all forms of extremism and is no stranger to anyone. “We pursue right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, left-wing extremism and Islamism in equal measure. We target the enemies of democracy with a 360-degree vision,” Krings said.
Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht of the SPD emphasized that the vast majority of German citizens reject extremism. Furthermore, the corona measures in Germany have the support of a large majority of the population. “Today I would like to pay tribute to this supportive majority. Because I am really tired of an extremist minority attracting so much attention,” Lambrecht said.
The Minister of Justice also thanked police officers, who repeatedly have to intervene against extremists, and announced additional posts in the police and judiciary. “This is how we strengthen the police and the judiciary. And this is how we strengthen the people who day after day turn their heads to defend our freedom, our security, our democracy.”
AfD minimizes the “storm” in the Reichstag building
All parties represented in the Bundestag thanked the police. However, the AfD did not want to join in condemning the incidents in front of the Reichstag building. Internal policy spokesman Gottfried Curio criticized the outrage over the “Reichsbürger” storm as exaggerated. “But this troop of stairway selfies as quasi-coup plotters, that’s hypocrisy at its finest,” Curio said. No one tried to force their way into the building and no windows were broken. “This lie to the population must end. This assault on the Reichstag was just a storm in a glass of water,” Curio said.
Curio’s remarks were harshly criticized by the Greens’ internal political spokesperson, Konstantin von Notz. He accused the AfD of not separating from right-wing extremists. “The documented attempt of several hundred people to break into this building; from a demonstration to which you mobilized on a large scale, where your people from your group were in the place – and you did not distance yourself,” criticized von Notz .
With the exception of the AfD, all parties agreed: the greatest danger in Germany today is the right-wing extremists.
