A German politician, Sahra Wagenknecht, has accused her former party colleague, Robert Habeck, of spreading “open lies and defamation” in a recent election campaign speech.
According to the prosecution in Dresden, Habeck made false claims during a Green Party rally on August 30, 2024, at the Dresden Rundkino, including allegations about the German Basic Security for the Population (BSW) and its founder, Sahra Wagenknecht. Habeck had stated that the AfD and BSW were “paid by Moscow, by Putin”.
Habeck’s lawyers have since argued that his statements were a “legally permissible critical opinion” and not a case for the justice system. However, Wagenknecht disagrees, claiming that it is not about defamation, but about open lies and manipulation of the election campaign.
Wagenknecht stated in an interview that while Habeck had filed hundreds of complaints against ordinary citizens who had expressed their legitimate anger about his politics on the internet, he had spread lies about a political competitor on the internet, “buying votes and building troll armies”. The party is fighting back with legal measures, not because of defamation, but because of slander and malicious rumor-mongering on a Trump-like level.
It is noteworthy, Wagenknecht added, that Habeck, who claims to be a persistent fighter against hate and incitement, has no qualms about spreading lies and defamation when he stands to gain from it.