Germany ousts spymaster over far-right violence row

By Joseph Nasr

 

FILE PHOTO: Hans-Georg Maassen, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution arrives for a meeting of the parliamentary committee that oversees German intelligence agencies, in Berlin,Germany, September 12, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's government said on Tuesday it would replace the head of its domestic intelligence agency who has faced accusations of harbouring far-right sympathies, putting an end to a row that exposed divisions in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.

 

Hans-Georg Maassen, who had questioned the authenticity of video footage showing far-right radicals hounding migrants in the eastern German city of Chemnitz, will become a senior official at the interior ministry once he leaves the BfV agency, the government said in a statement.

 

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), junior coalition partners of Merkel's conservative bloc, had wanted Maassen removed from the post he has held since 2012.

 

Horst Seehofer, leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), had stood behind Maassen.

 

"Interior Minister Horst Seehofer values (Maassen's) competence on questions of public security," the government statement said. "Mr Maassen will not be in charge of supervising the BfV at the ministry."

 

The deal allows each of the three parties to claim it got what it wanted. But opposition parties were quick to denounce the deal as a face-saving measure that effectively amounted to a promotion for Maassen.

 

Leftist lawmakers have accused Seehofer of undermining the credibility of the BfV agency by refusing to fire Maassen.

 

'IT'S A FARCE'

They also accuse Seehofer of being reluctant to act for fear of strengthening the far-right Alternative forGermany (AfD) party, which has also stood behind Maassen and is expected to steal conservative voters from the CSU in a regional election next month in Bavaria.

 

"Maassen is no longer the top spy. This is good. But it is a farce that he is practically being promoted and that the SPD is going along with this," said Dietmar Bartsch of the hard-left Die Linke party.

 

SPD leader Andrea Nahles faced a backlash from members of her party furious at the decision to retain Maassen as a senior civil servant.

 

"The so-called agreement on Maassen is a joke," Florian Post, an SPD lawmaker in the Bavarian regional assembly, told the RND newspaper group. "Either the man is fit to hold high office or he isn't."

 

Maassen's comments on the video pictures contradicted Merkel's own assessment. She said they "very clearly revealed hate" which could not be tolerated.

 

The far-right violence, the worst seen in Germany in decades, followed the fatal stabbing of a German man that was blamed on two migrants. Earlier on Tuesday a German court released one of the men, an Iraqi, though a Syrian man remains in custody and a third suspect is being sought.

 

Merkel has been criticised for taking 11 days to act on Maassen, whose comments on the far-right violence in Chemnitz during an interview with mass-selling Bild newspaper on Sept. 7 triggered the row.

 

The violence in Chemnitz exposed deep divisions in Germany over Merkel's 2015 decision to open the country's doors to around a million people seeking asylum, mainly Muslims from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

That decision has also been blamed for fuelling the rise of the AfD, which became the largest opposition party after an election last year that weakened both Merkel's conservatives and the SPD. It is expected to come third in Bavaria on Oct. 14.

 

On Tuesday the AfD said removing Maassen as head of the BfV agency posed a threat to national security.

 

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-19

1 hour ago, webfact said:

who has faced accusations of harbouring far-right sympathies,

but it is OK for anybody to hold a gov position if they have far-left sympathies.

Just now, DoctorG said:

but it is OK for anybody to hold a gov position if they have far-left sympathies.

Agreed and more so if over a million refugees can help you acheive your political ends.

Primitive knockabout comedy.

Germany is the center of insanity.

Well it’s not like Germany doesn’t have any experience of what the far-right are capable of.

36 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

but it is OK for anybody to hold a gov position if they have far-left sympathies.

It’s bad enough that a government agency which is supposed to protect democracy is lead by a far-right. In fact, he wasn’t removed because of his political view (which, again, would be reason enough) but because he was spreading wrong information and spinning conspiracy theories. And he has a long track record of incompetency. 

6 minutes ago, schlog said:

Primitive knockabout comedy.

Germany is the center of insanity.

The problem about you far-right folks is that you can’t offer anything more than accusations, claims and lies lacking any evidence. 

1 hour ago, DoctorG said:

but it is OK for anybody to hold a gov position if they have far-left sympathies.

Looking forward to your examples of this.

So will they now have a "spymaster"

who is anti "far right" (as definded by the government)

but pro alien violence?

Edited September 19, 20187 yr by sweatalot

2 hours ago, DoctorG said:

but it is OK for anybody to hold a gov position if they have far-left sympathies.

Far left?

Name one!

24 minutes ago, DM07 said:

Far left?

Name one!

Merkel.  Facilitating an invasion into her own country by unassimilable third worlders is about as far left as you can get.

An off-topic troll post has been removed from this thread.

2 minutes ago, RoyLee said:

Merkel.  Facilitating an invasion into her own country by unassimilable third worlders is about as far left as you can get.

Yeah, I remember Marx talking about that in the Manifesto!

Jeeeezus, the BS you get to read on these subjects is truly abysmal!

19 minutes ago, RoyLee said:

Merkel.  Facilitating an invasion into her own country by unassimilable third worlders is about as far left as you can get.

Please stop spreading lies or provide evidence. Do you really think anyone else than an illiterate neo-Nazi is going to buy into this? 

1 hour ago, DM07 said:

Yeah, I remember Marx talking about that in the Manifesto!

Jeeeezus, the BS you get to read on these subjects is truly abysmal!

2 hours ago, RoyLee said:

Merkel.  Facilitating an invasion into her own country by unassimilable third worlders is about as far left as you can get.

 

 

When I was young, a "left" person was Stalin or Mao.  Today, "left" is applied randomly to the likes of Bernie Sanders, Guardian readers, CNN watchers, whom I would consider all to be upholders of the status quo, which makes them small 'c' conservative in my old-fashioned opinion.

Also, when I was young, Americans tended to label people like Sanders a "commie".

 

Merkel is the head of the CDU, which is as conservative an organization as you can find in Germany.  Therefore it makes no sense to label Merkel a "leftist".

 

In brief, the terms left and right have little meaning today.  I think many of us on this thread are left today and right tomorrow and left again  etc etc etc.

Quote

The deal allows each of the three parties to claim it got what it wanted. But opposition parties were quick to denounce the deal as a face-saving measure that effectively amounted to a promotion for Maassen.

with an increase of his annual salary by €UR 30,000.- ! 

4 hours ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

It’s bad enough that a government agency which is supposed to protect democracy is lead by a far-right. In fact, he wasn’t removed because of his political view (which, again, would be reason enough) but because he was spreading wrong information and spinning conspiracy theories. And he has a long track record of incompetency. 

Slapping a "far-right" label on anybody who opposes the EU's disastrous immigration policy is typical of the regressive left, whose naive embrace of Islam poses the greatest threat to European democracy since the appeasement of another totalitarian ideology in the 1930's.

 

With 55 million Muslims already in residence, demographic forecasts show time is rapidly running out to prevent misguided European multiculturalists, led by former Communist Angela Merkel, from transforming the Continent from a bastion of democratic freedom into a dhimmi colony of the rapidly-expanding Islamic empire.

 

A swing to the right leading to a far more conservative approach to immigration, is essential if we are to avoid eventually being ruled not by elected governments and man-made laws - but by religious zealots wielding the big stick of Sharia law.

 

 

27 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Slapping a "far-right" label on anybody who opposes the EU's disastrous immigration policy is typical of the regressive left, whose naive embrace of Islam poses the greatest threat to European democracy since the appeasement of another totalitarian ideology in the 1930's.

 

With 55 million Muslims already in residence, demographic forecasts show time is rapidly running out to prevent misguided European multiculturalists, led by former Communist Angela Merkel, from transforming the Continent from a bastion of democratic freedom into a dhimmi colony of the rapidly-expanding Islamic empire.

 

A swing to the right leading to a far more conservative approach to immigration, is essential if we are to avoid eventually being ruled not by elected governments and man-made laws - but by religious zealots wielding the big stick of Sharia law.

 

 

Try researching facts, rather than cut and post rabid far right rhetoric. BTW remind yourself of the Duck Test, then look up current definition/s of 'far right'

Edited September 19, 20187 yr by simple1

1 hour ago, Krataiboy said:

Slapping a "far-right" label on anybody who opposes the EU's disastrous immigration policy

I didn’t do that. I called a far-right a far-right. If he doesn’t wants to be called far-right, he should consider changing being a far-right. 

 

1 hour ago, Krataiboy said:

misguided European multiculturalists, led by former Communist Angela Merkel, from transforming the Continent from a bastion of democratic freedom into a dhimmi colony of the rapidly-expanding Islamic empire.

I was going to lol about you, but I hope you find a good therapist for your paranoia and conspiracy theories. 

55 minutes ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

I didn’t do that. I called a far-right a far-right. If he doesn’t wants to be called far-right, he should consider changing being a far-right. 

 

I was going to lol about you, but I hope you find a good therapist for your paranoia and conspiracy theories. 

Facing reality is pretty good therapy. You should try it. Along with some serious research into Islam, what it is, how it operates, etc.

1 hour ago, simple1 said:

Try researching facts, rather than cut and post rabid far right rhetoric. BTW remind yourself of the Duck Test, then look up current definition/s of 'far right'

Simple by name. . . 

1 hour ago, Krataiboy said:

Facing reality is pretty good therapy. You should try it. Along with some serious research into Islam, what it is, how it operates, etc.

research into Islam will vindicate Maassen's utmost stupid behaviour?

Webfact wrote

 

Quote

"The so-called agreement on Maassen is a joke," Florian Post, an SPD lawmaker in the Bavarian regional assembly, told the RND newspaper group. "Either the man is fit to hold high office or he isn't."

 

 

But Mr. Post also said (but here not printed): „What did they drink during the crisis meeting?“

 

I think that outlined what has happened in this meeting, `cause to reward Maassen by a promotion – look at Naam's #16 - for his incredible misjudgement of the situation in Chemnitz. Hold in mind, he is/was the boss of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Result, an reward for incompetence and stupidity given by the 3 party leaders.

 

Face saving politicians at the cost of common sense, that is what makes most Germans so angry.

Edited September 19, 20187 yr by puck2

12 hours ago, stevenl said:

Looking forward to your examples of this.

The more evidence and proof ordinary people supply, the more they are reclassified as ' far right' but the more the extreme left, socialists and cultural marxists express their ectremist opinions the more they are called liberal and progressive.

7 minutes ago, The manic said:

The more evidence and proof ordinary people supply, the more they are reclassified as ' far right' but the more the extreme left, socialists and cultural marxists express their ectremist opinions the more they are called liberal and progressive.

So the names are ...

The German executive in the parliament, Bundestag, consists of 3 parties. CDU (Christian Democratic Union) with Merkel as leader, her sister-party CSU (Christian Social Union; only in Bavaria) with Seehofer as leader and the SPD (Social Democratic Party) with Nahles as leader.

 

All 3 parties are on their way down as polls have proven. One reason for their declining is the distance between what the politicians do and what the commonality wants. The political Maassen disaster is just a proper example of it. Rewarding Maassen for his ineptitude by a promotion as state secretary in the interior ministry which is under Seehofer. Topping the stupidity of these 3 politicians – they dumped an overall accepted and recognized man (SPD) to replace him by Maassen, not an (technical) expert for the new job, at all.

 

This shows the politicians don't worry about quality but about their own interests. One reason the people loathe them more and more (look at the poll results). To understand their horrible behavior a little bit (but not accepting it), in Bavaria, Seehofer's homeland, there will be (state)elections next month on October 14. He didn't want to drop Maassen.

 

Instead of firing Seehofer because he didn't want to sack Maassen, Merkel agreed to his promotion. Nahles too. Official reason for all 3 concerned party members: there was a big danger that the GroKo (great coalition of the above mentioned 3 Parties) would crash, That would be dangerous at the moment for the BRD.

 

Their untruthful explanation. The real reason, all 3 parties are afraid of a new election in the light of the declining poll results. They have been afraid of protest votes against them – all 3 parties. But exactly this will happen in the coming elections.