Scized Deck of Spooks: German Intel Committee Shrinks with AfD MIA
Election Loss for Reichinnek and AfD Deputies
In the political chess game that is the Bundestag, one committee's seat count has been whittled down following a recent election—and it doesn't bode well for the far-right AfD. With only Green politician von Notz securing a spot, neither the Left's Reichinnek nor the duo AfD (Hess and Otten) could amass the necessary votes for membership in the Parliamentary Control Panel (PKGr), the body that keeps an eye on the federal intelligence services.
With the reduction from 13 to 9 members, the PKGr now sports a leaner profile than its predecessor in the last legislative period. The Union, SPD, and Greens will now have representatives such as Heiko Hain, Marc Henrichmann, and Konstantin von Notz, while the SPD will be represented by Daniel Baldy and Sonja Eichwede.
There's been a second round of criticism, this time from the CSU, surrounding Reichinnek's position in the committee, particularly concerning her vetting process. Since an absolute majority is required for the election, she needed Union votes, too.
The PKGr's role is integral, overseeing the Federal Intelligence Service, the Military Counterintelligence Service, and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The federal government must keep the committee up to speed on the intelligence services' activities and significant events, and it can also request reports on further events and gain access to files and databases. The members can also question employees from the intelligence services and access all facilities of the three intelligence services.
The reduced committee membership is part of an overall parliamentary reshuffle following the 2025 federal election, which halved the number of Bundestag members from 736 to 630. The reforms aimed to streamline operations after the early election, in which the earlier governing coalition collapsed[1][2].
With the new Bundestag in place, representatives from the major parties will likely make up the reshuffled intelligence committee, excluding the AfD due to the political isolation the party faces[1][2]. The exact names of the new committee members have not yet been released.
- Updated: 2023
- German Bundestag
- Intelligence Services
- AfD
- The Left Party
- Alliance 90/The Greens
- Union Fraction
- In light of the recent parliamentary reshuffle following the 2025 federal election, discussions around employment policies within EC countries have emerged, as the reduced intelligence committee, responsible for overseeing war-and-conflicts and politics-related general news, now predominantly comprises representatives from the Alliance 90/The Greens, Union Fraction, and the SPD.
- Amidst the political changes in the Bundestag, the political isolation of the AfD party, following their exclusion from the Intelligence Committee, has raised concerns about their future role in employment policymaking, given the significance of the Committee in monitoring critical areas such as war-and-conflicts and politics.
