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Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Caffier, long-time interior minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, pulls the cord after days of criticism: he is retiring from office. Earlier it was learned that he had bought a gun from a man with connections to the far-right preparation group “Nordkreuz”.
Germany’s longest-serving interior minister, Lorenz Caffier, throws in the towel. The background is an arms purchase from a dealer with ties to the right-wing extremist scene. The CDU politician from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was put under pressure when the deal and then Caffier’s awkward behavior became known. Now he declared in Schwerin that because of the matter he no longer had the necessary authority for his position. The 65-year-old said it was not a mistake to acquire it, but to deal with it. By resigning, he also wants to protect his family and those around him. The current head of the CDU parliamentary group in the Schwerin state parliament, Torsten Renz, will become the new department head. The change must be proposed to Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig, the CDU announced.
He also justified his current resignation with the fact that the last few days had been an “unbearable burden.” Furthermore, he wanted to avoid damage to the government, the coalition and ultimately the country as well, the statement said about his resignation. Caffier described as particularly hurtful that in relation to the purchase of arms, “some kind of proximity to right-wing circles is suggested. I can only reject this accusation in all harshness. It is simply absurd.”
Caffier also claimed that two years ago he had the feeling that he had to resign over accusations about a holiday home on Usedom to relieve his family. The accusations are completely unfounded. The current allegations have a completely different dimension. Caffier raised accusations of “completely uninhibited reporting” on the case.
Pressured by the head of government
Caffier had only admitted a few days ago that he had bought a gun for his private job as a hunter from a merchant who belonged to the far-right preparation group “Nordkreuz”. Before that, he had not responded to corresponding inquiries from the taz for a long time and had recently stated that it was a private matter. A little later it was revealed in a “Spiegel” interview. Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig later demanded a public statement.
Caffier stated that he was unaware of the merchant’s far-right attitudes when he bought it. When he bought the gun in early 2018, neither the Interior Ministry nor the State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA), the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Secretary of State or himself were aware of the right-wing extremist tendencies. from the seller, Caffier said in the requested statement. There was also no evidence of membership in a far-right organization or criminal acts by the man. “Only in May 2019 did LKA investigations reveal indications of far-right activities.”
However, the name of the arms dealer had already been mentioned in July 2017 by a whistleblower to federal authorities about the activities of the far-right network “Prepper”, while continuing the message. Information on the testimony was sent to the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in July 2017. However, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution “obviously had no real evidence of right-wing extremist activities” by the man. In March 2018, the state office received documents. However, no knowledge of the right-wing extremists about the arms dealer could have been derived from this. The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution also had no right to forward the documents to the LKA Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or even to inform it.
Minister of the Interior since 2006
Caffier had previously described the purchase of the gun as a private matter and had been criticized for it. He admitted that it was a mistake not to have reported the purchase to the Home Office in May 2019 when the results of the LKA investigation were available. The arms dealer was detected in the course of investigations against the far-right preparation group while evaluating the talks, the ministry said in the statement. Among other things, it operates a shooting range that has been used by the state police for years. The collaboration is now over. The federal prosecutor’s office has been investigating members of “Nordkreuz” since August 2017.
Caffier has served as the state interior minister since 2006 and was also deputy prime minister in the state government of Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig. He also stated that he wanted to keep his term in the state parliament. The 65-year-old had been considered one of the CDU’s strong minds in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania until now, as its president from 2009 to 2017.
