The allegations of espionage leveled against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party by Thuringia’s Interior Minister, Georg Maier, are receiving tacit support from within the German government, with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU explicitly acknowledging the legitimacy of the concerns. Speaking to “Handelsblatt”, Dobrindt characterized the AfD’s increasingly overt alignment with President Putin as indicative of a “German Putin party” suggesting a level of proximity that transcends mere political sympathy.
The escalating anxieties stem from suspicions that the AfD is strategically exploiting parliamentary inquiries to gain intelligence on critical German infrastructure, potentially acting on behalf of a foreign power. Maier’s assertion that the party’s questioning activities resemble an “order list from the Kremlin” has fueled the controversy. The AfD has vehemently denied these accusations.
Dobrindt emphasized that ongoing investigations into individual AfD members and employees provide a context that “strengthens” these suspicions. While he refrained from making definitive declarations, he underscored the imperative to ascertain the “depth of these connections” a task left to the investigative authorities.
The planned trip to Russia by AfD Member of Parliament Markus Frohnmaier and the subsequent pronouncements by CSU General Secretary Martin Huber, who labelled the venture as “treason” further intensified the political storm. Dobrindt directly addressed the situation, arguing that the AfD’s defense of Putin’s war and disregard for international law, coupled with self-proclaimed patriotism, represents a fundamental contradiction. He personally understood Huber’s use of the term “treason” stating that genuine patriotism embodies the respect for the self-determination of other nations. Dobrindt concluded by expressing skepticism regarding the purportedly innocuous nature of interactions between AfD parliamentarians and the Russian embassy, insinuating that such meetings likely involve more than a simple exchange of pleasantries.