Zoom Image
Hans-Georg Maaßen with Thilo Sarrazin 2021
Photo: Martin Schutt / picture alliance / dpa
Federal politicians from the Greens and the Left Party are calling for a tougher approach to Hans-Georg Maaßen. Reason: The former president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and CDU politician has once again spoken out in a right-wing publication. In recent years, Maassen has repeatedly attracted attention with appearances on extreme right-wing and conspiracy ideological media.
In the Austrian magazine "Freilich" he accused his own party of being able to form a coalition "only with left-wing parties, preferably with the Greens" instead of cooperating with the AfD or the "citizens in anger" in Bremen. And: Left-wing extremism, not right-wing extremism, is "the greatest danger to democracy".
Katja Mast, parliamentary secretary of the SPD parliamentary group, criticises that it has become surprisingly quiet around Maassen in the CDU/CSU, although he is "constantly shifting the political discourse to the right". Addressing CDU leader Friedrich Merz, she says: "Political leadership is urgently needed here."
Helge Limburg, legal policy spokesman for the Greens, demands that the parliamentary control body responsible for intelligence services should examine "whether there have been concrete indications of betrayal of secrets by Maassen or any other form of conspiracy with the AfD during his term of office."
Daphne Weber, leader of the Left Party, is calling for a parliamentary committee of inquiry for her parliamentary group. Maaßen's "statements show that he wants to prepare the ground for an alliance of conservatives and right-wing radicals." The committee should clarify how Maaßen could become head of the BfV and whether he had abused his office to protect the AfD from surveillance.
AKM, MBA