Greens and SPD criticize Söder’s adherence to Aiwanger

2023-09-04 09:17:14

The decision of the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) to leave his deputy Hubert Aiwanger in office despite the leaflet affair has been criticized by politicians from the Greens and the SPD. The Bavarian member of the Bundestag Anton Hofreiter (Greens) said on Monday on rbb24 Inforadio that Söder “acted as he believed that it would be best for him in terms of power tactics.” democratic culture, “proved to be an unrestrained opportunist and a pure power cynic,” says Hofreiter. The CSU is a central democratic party in Germany, so it sends a fatal signal in difficult times.

It is scandalous that Aiwanger is staying in office, said the Greens member of the Bundestag. “And different from how Mr. Aiwanger portrays it, not primarily because of his behavior at 17 – the leaflet was disgusting, inhuman and anti-Semitic – but his unspeakable handling of the scandal from back then.” Aiwanger’s apology was half-hearted, according to Hofreiter. ” Instead, he turns it into a right-wing populist campaign.”

Esken: grist to the mill of those who downplayed the Nazis

SPD leader Saskia Esken called Söder’s decision “a fatal signal” and grist to the mill of those who downplayed the Nazi era, anti-Semitism and racism, as she told the “Rheinische Post” (Monday). “Not only the possible behavior of Hubert Aiwanger in his youth, but above all the way he deals with it today clearly shows to me that he is unsuitable to take on responsibility in a government,” said Esken.

Prime Minister Söder said on ZDF on Sunday that it would have been disproportionate to dismiss his deputy. Aiwanger has clearly distanced himself from the anti-Semitic leaflet that was found on him when he was at school.

Knobloch does not accept Aiwanger’s apology

The leader of the parliamentary group of the Greens, Britta Haßelmann, wrote on Platform X: “With his decision to Aiwanger, Markus Soeder opted for tactics instead of attitude.” Söder is also responsible. “Anyone who says something anti-Semitic in the future can actually refer to the deputy prime minister in Bavaria,” she said on Sunday evening on ZDF’s “Heute Journal”.

Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the Israeli religious community in Munich and Upper Bavaria, Charlotte Knobloch, said she had not accepted an apology from Aiwanger. She said on Deutschlandfunk on Monday that Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had not fired his deputy, which was acceptable for political reasons. In the event of a dismissal, Aiwanger would have exploited the situation for himself and been successful, according to Knobloch. This would have been the greater catastrophe. According to Knobloch, the chairman of the Free Voters in Bavaria contacted her. She didn’t accept his apology.

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A week ago, according to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Aiwanger was suspected of having written an anti-Semitic leaflet as a student in the 1980s. He denied this but admitted that one or a few specimens had been found in his pocket. His brother then accused himself of being the author. As a result, further allegations were raised, partly anonymously, about Aiwanger’s political behavior at the time. After several days, he apologized on Thursday, but at the same time lamented a political campaign against himself.

Söder said on Sunday that a dismissal would not have been proportionate. He criticized the crisis management of his deputy. He should have clarified the allegations earlier, more decisively and more comprehensively. His apology and distancing came late, but not too late, said the CSU boss and demanded that Aiwanger now have to regain lost trust, for example in talks with Jewish communities. At the same time, he emphasized that he would stick to the coalition with the Free Voters even after the October 8 election. “There will definitely be no black and green in Bavaria.”

Söder rejected speculations that he acted this way out of fear of voters showing solidarity with Aiwanger. “Fear is not a benchmark for me,” he said in the ZDF summer interview. “I just wanted fairness.”