Union, SPD, FDP: Other parties blame AfD for "lateral thinkers"

After the killing of a gas station cashier in Idar-Oberstein because of a dispute over wearing a corona protective mask, domestic politicians from several parties have given the AfD joint responsibility for the radicalization of the “lateral thinker” scene.

"The AfD is the top agent of political radicalization in Germany," said the domestic political spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Konstantin Kuhle, the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND).

The domestic political spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, Ute Vogt, and her colleague in the Union parliamentary group, Mathias Middelberg, raised allegations against the AfD.

"Shared responsibility for radicalization"

The perpetrator from Idar-Oberstein supported the party "on social media," said Kuhle.

"By spreading their confused dictatorship allegations during the corona pandemic, right-wing extremists share responsibility for the radicalization of certain population groups, including the perpetrators from Idar-Oberstein." Even the murderer of Kassel's regional president Walter Lübcke had posters for the AfD hung up and donated their money.

The domestic political spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, Ute Vogt, also made serious accusations.

"Since entering the Bundestag, the AfD has made a significant contribution to the enormous increase in hatred and agitation on the streets and in social media," Vogt told the RND.

The party “quickly recognized the potential and used the lateral thinker scene for itself”.

The Union expressed itself a little more cautiously: "To look for the reasons for this horrific act alone with the AfD is too easy," said the domestic political spokesman for the Union faction, Mathias Middelberg, the RND. "But of course the AfD is contributing to an increasing polarization of our society with its targeted provocations." This also leads to lower inhibition thresholds.

It must now be examined in detail what drove the perpetrator to the act. "If there are connections to the lateral thinker scene, the observation of this movement may have to be intensified," said Middelberg. It must be clear to everyone: “The core of the so-called lateral thinkers is no longer concerned with the Corona measures, but with combating our democratic constitutional state. This clearly crosses a red line. ”Middelberg demanded that anyone who would like to continue protesting against corona measures should clearly distance themselves from the lateral thinker scene.

On Saturday, a 20-year-old student who worked at a gas station in Idar-Oberstein was shot.

The occasion was apparently a dispute about the obligation to wear a corona mask.

According to the police, the alleged perpetrator stated in his interrogation that he rejected the corona protective measures.

Accordingly, the 49-year-old shot the young cashier out of anger at his request to wear a mask.