A German politician, Mathias Middelberg, a member of the Union, has threatened to revoke the state funding of organizations that participate in the “Brandmauer” demonstrations, which he believes are not genuinely pro-democracy, but rather partisan and aimed at influencing the outcome of the federal election in favor of specific parties. Middelberg, the Fraktionsvize, stated in an interview with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that the Union will scrutinize and potentially cancel funding programs of the federal government, including the “Demokratie leben” program of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, led by Lisa Paus of the Greens, if the organizations involved in the demonstrations are found to be not genuinely non-profit and not deserving of public funding.
Middelberg made it clear that demonstrations for democracy and against right-wing extremism are acceptable, but those against the CDU and its leader Friedrich Merz are not, as they are seen as purely partisan and not pro-democracy. He believes that in the heat of the federal election campaign, it is also about influencing the outcome in favor of individual parties.