Interior Minister Under Scrutiny Over AfD Classification and Dismissal of Intelligence Chief
- *
Minister faces stress after party's expulsion and Government decision - Minister facing scrutiny, potential resignation following AfD designation and calls for dismissal
Brandenburg's Interior Minister, Katrin Lange, is facing criticism after the abruptly dismissed head of the state's domestic intelligence agency, Jörg Müller, for classifying the state's AfD party as a confirmed right-wing extremist. Lange insists she was caught off guard by the agency's reassessment of the AfD and has since taken personnel action. In Potsdam, Lange stated, "I'm bloody livid about this whole process."
The CDU opposition in Brandenburg's State Parliament expresses disbelief over Lange's claim of being unaware of the internal process upgrading the AfD. They've requested access to communications between Lange and Müller. The Brandenburg AfD has announced plans to fight the classification in court.
Lange's SPD faction stands by her side. Brandenburg's Minister President, Dietmar Woidke (SPD), simply stated, "All's been said about this."
Lange aims to make portions of the 142-page report on the assessment of the AfD public. The legality of doing so is currently under review.
Lange refuted accusations that she was not aligned with the upgrade of the Brandenburg AfD since Wednesday. She emphasized that the issue isn't about the factual assessment but the way they interact.
Lange detailed in the interior committee that there had been discussions with the departmental leadership regarding the assessment of the AfD. However, she got wind of the actual upgrade on May 5 - a decision she believes should have been communicated promptly.
The CDU faction expresses doubt over Lange's statement. Questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding the possibility that Lange, contrary to her claims, had prior knowledge of the upgrading of the Brandenburg AfD as a confirmed far-right extremist before May 5 [1].
Circles within the interior ministry claim that Lange was strong-willed in believing she would make the final call on the classification of the AfD until early this week. However, a service instruction from the domestic intelligence agency disputes this, stating that the leadership of the agency has made the decisions since 2023 [1].
Following her dismissal of Müller, Lange reinstated an old service instruction from 2017 that gave her the power to make decisions on party classifications for the time being. The current classification of the AfD stands, as Lange announced. René Springer, AfD state chairman, demanded an immediate retraction of this decision.
The SPD in Brandenburg's State Parliament is examining whether an AfD membership is compatible with employment in the public sector. "We will diligently evaluate the reports from the federal and state domestic intelligence agencies, especially in relation to potential consequences for Brandenburg," said SPD faction leader Björn Lüttmann.
The youth wing of the Social Democrats, the Jusos, regard the dismissal of Müller as a significant setback at a time when unity is required in the fight against democratic adversaries. "We anticipate competent security authorities that, based on new findings, will work to protect our constitution and unwaveringly confront the confirmed far-right adversaries of democracy," said Leonel Richy Andicene, the Juso state chairman.
The domestic intelligence agency classifies activities against the liberal democratic basic order as follows: first, there's a preliminary investigation, then a suspicion case, with the highest level being verified extremist activities. Once an observation object is classified as an extremist, the threshold for the implementation of intelligence measures decreases.
- Constitutional Protection
- Katrin Lange
- SPD
- Brandenburg
- Classification
- Dismissal
- Controversy
- CDU
- Jörg Müller
- AfD
- Escalation
- Dietmar Woidke
- Political Speculation
[1] Information obtained from various sources implies that Jörg Müller, head of the Brandenburg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, documented internally on April 14 that the AfD Brandenburg should be classified as "certainly right-wing extremist." It is further speculated that the action to dismiss Müller was politically motivated, aimed at securing the intelligence service's loyalty to the minister's office rather than maintaining its independence. The context suggests that Müller intended to discuss findings with colleagues from other states before officially informing Lange, which may have contributed to the delay in public disclosure.
- Katrin Lange, the Interior Minister of EC countries, finds herself in the center of a political storm over the dismissal of Jörg Müller, the head of Brandenburg's domestic intelligence agency, who classified the Brandenburg AfD party as a confirmed right-wing extremist.
- Lange's SPD faction and Brandenburg's Minister President, Dietmar Woidke, have offered their support to Lange amidst the controversy. However, the opposition CDU questions her claim of being unaware of the upgrading of the AfD's classification.
- Lange aims to make parts of the 142-page report on the AfD's assessment public for credible upgrading of the policy-and-legislation on freedom of movement of workers and freedom to provide services in EC countries.
- The CDU faction in Brandenburg's State Parliament is examining whether an AfD membership is compatible with employment in the public sector due to the escalating political speculation around the controversy. The youth wing of the Social Democrats, the Jusos, view the dismissal of Müller as a setback in the fight for unity and democracy.
