In a report published on Tuesday, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) relies on “internal lists of names” from the Bundestag and employee lists from the AfD parliamentary group, which it was able to view.
According to BR, the employees include people who are mentioned by name in reports for the protection of the constitution, who hold leadership positions in monitored organizations and who have appeared as speakers at the Institute for State Policy (IfS) in Schnellroda, which is classified as right-wing extremist. A representative of the “One Percent” association, which is considered by the domestic secret service to be part of the so-called new right and was also classified as right-wing extremist, is also among them.
Members of the AfD youth organization
According to the research, a large part of the more than 100 employees in question are members of the AfD youth organization Junge Alternative (JA), which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as definitely right-wing extremist, and employees from the AfD regional associations in Saxony, Saxony- Anhalt and Thuringia, which are classified as definitely right-wing extremist by the constitutional protection offices there. There are around 25 employees in the JA alone and, according to the report, “dozens” come from the three regional associations mentioned.
The AfD party and parliamentary group leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla rejected the report. “This is so ridiculous, far-fetched,” said Weidel before a meeting of the Bundestag parliamentary group. It’s about “further discrediting the AfD.” Chrupalla called the research on the employees defamatory. The employees were checked internally by the parliamentary group. “And everyone who works here and who has a house ID card has also been checked by the Bundestag. They are innocent citizens against whom there is nothing against them.”
Weidel defends himself
Weidel said the whole thing was “placed” on the day of the court hearing between the AfD and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Münster – it concerns questions of intelligence observation of the party. She spoke of a media campaign.
The German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser suggested tightening the rules in the Bundestag. “Only people who act firmly on the basis of the Basic Law are allowed to work in government and authorities,” said the SPD politician to the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday). The Bundestag could review its own rules and discuss tightening them. The government is staying out of this because of the separation of powers. “But one thing is clear: we are a defensive democracy and must use all mechanisms to protect it from its enemies,” said Faeser.
Green party leader Britta Haßelmann also called for parliament to be protected against right-wing extremist activity. The Bundestag administration must take care of this. It is time to “take a very close look at this” and “use every possible means here in the house” to take action against it.
Great concern
Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz said: “I view this with the greatest concern.” If there are such cases, they would have to be clarified in the Bundestag. “Then it must also be clarified whether there is a basis for further employment here in the house.” The head of the CSU member of the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, remained calm. That was “not surprising” to him, he said. “Why should employees be different from their employers?” At its core, the AfD is right-wing extremist. “The logical consequence of this is that this naturally attracts right-wing extremist employees.”
The first parliamentary managing director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei, reacted indignantly. “If this press report turns out to be true, the President of the Bundestag must act immediately,” said the CDU politician. “It would be absurd and absolutely unacceptable for the AfD to employ right-wing extremists.”
Anyone who works in Bundestag buildings receives a Bundestag ID card to gain access. This is created upon request. According to the Bundestag’s house rules, a so-called general background check is carried out on the person concerned, for which police databases are used. The application can be rejected “if there are reasonable doubts about the reliability of the person making the application.” The ID card can later be confiscated for these reasons.
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