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Stuttgart (AP) - The anti-Semitism commissioner of the Baden-Württemberg state government, Michael Blume, accuses the controversial "lateral thinking" movement openly to be hostile to democracy.
“It attacks democracy,” said Blume on Thursday in the ZDF “morning magazine”.
"If you don't want to see how dangerous this movement is and how it is radicalizing, you obviously don't want to see it."
Blume justified his assessment, among other things, with the fact that “lateral thinking” founder Michael Ballweg had called a “constituent assembly”, and there were also contacts with the scene of the so-called Reich citizens.
These reject the German state, its legal system, governments, parliaments and the police.
Ballweg, on the other hand, emphasized at a demonstration in Frankfurt (Oder) at the weekend: "We are a peaceful movement in which extremism, violence, anti-Semitism and inhuman ideas have no place."
Blume said that conspiracy movements always arise from common enemy images.
"At the beginning there are definitely people who are simply afraid, who have concerns that are not extremist."
But the latter then begin to withdraw.
"And the people who stick with it are then those who have radicalized."
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Supporters of the initiative “lateral thinking 0711” and offshoots of the movement have taken to the streets in numerous German cities against restrictions in the Corona crisis in recent months.
There were also counter-demonstrations.
Interview with Blume on ZDF