Berlin, Germany – The Green and Left parties have sharply criticized the Union for a parliamentary inquiry into the funding of numerous civil society organizations. “It’s appalling” said Green party faction leader Britta Haßelmann to the online news portal T-Online. “It looks like parts of civil society are being intimidated here.”
Left party leader Jan van Aken told T-Online: “The Union is using the methods of the extreme right. This inquiry is a threat to the entire democratic civil society. Here, a future government party is making clear that it is not willing to tolerate any opposition. Such intimidations are unworthy of a democratic party, let alone a democratic government.”
The Union’s parliamentary faction had started an inquiry into the funding of non-governmental organizations, some of which had recently called for demonstrations against the right. The small inquiry, titled “Political Neutrality of State-Funded Organizations” poses hundreds of questions to organizations like Omas gegen Rechts, BUND and Greenpeace, as well as journalistic organizations like the Research Network and Correctiv.
Haßelmann further stated: “The CDU/CSU’s message seems clear. When it comes to certain associations, one inquires about the foundations of the associations’ financing and their non-profit status.” Notably, a range of these non-governmental organizations had called for demonstrations for freedom and against the threat to democracy by the extreme right just a couple of weeks prior. “Even the SPD must ask itself if it will condone this style of intimidation from its future coalition partner – against organizations with which it had still been demonstrating together against the threat to democracy just a few weeks ago” Haßelmann added.