Spy chief row tests German government
Explosive immigration controversy rocks fragile Merkel coalition
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government was to decide Tuesday whether to keep on or fire the domestic spy chief as an explosive row over immigration and the far-right once more rocks her fragile coalition.
The controversy has sparked the second major stress test for a weakened Merkel’s fourth-term government forged half a year ago between her centre-right CDU, its conservative Bavarian sister party CSU and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
The three party chiefs last week huddled to discuss the fate of Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the BfV intelligence service – but postponed the tricky issue until a new crisis meeting scheduled for 2 pm GMT Tuesday.
Maassen, 55, became the focus of heated controversy after he raised doubts about the veracity of reports about farright hooligans and neo-Nazis randomly attacking immigrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz in late August.
The attacks, which sparked revulsion in Germany and abroad, were sparked by a fatal stabbing in which an Iraqi was identified as the chief suspect.
Days later, Maassen questioned the authenticity of amateur video footage showing the mob violence and voiced doubt that racists had indeed “hunted down” foreigners – comments that directly contradicted Merkel, who deplored the xenophobic attacks.
SPD leaders have since demanded the resignation or sacking of the spy chief for political meddling and pointed to his meetings with leaders of the antiimmigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Whatever Maassen’s true political leanings, the issue has quickly turned him into a martyr of Merkel haters and the far-right. The AfD’s Alice Weidel wrote on Facebook that “anyone who criticizes Merkel’s illegal immigration policy is mercilessly put through the wringer by the mainstream parties.”
Maassen has rejected accusations that he has supported AfD lawmakers with early access to unpublished data and advice on how to avoid surveillance by his Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
Social Democrat leader Andrea Nahles has insisted Maassen must go and SPD youth wing leader Kevin Kuehnert, 29, mockingly tweeted he should either explain his conspiracy theory or “throw in his tin foil hat.”