Thuringia Minister Wants to Block AfD from Intelligence Data in Saxony-Anhalt

Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) believes it is necessary for security and legally permissible to block the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt from accessing certain information within the intelligence network, should they participate in governing.

While a federal state cannot be entirely excluded from the intelligence network, particularly for security reasons like preventing attacks, Maier stated that "Chinese Walls," or partitions, can be erected within the shared information system to block specific data. This measure would specifically target information gathered by federal and state intelligence agencies for monitoring right-wing extremist organizations and for counter-espionage.

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But we can erect Chinese Walls in the joint information system, i.e., partitions that block certain information.

Maier expressed concern about the implications of an AfD victory, stating, "If the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt provides the Minister President, the champagne corks will pop in the Kremlin." He alluded to Austria's experience in 2018, when a raid on the Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism under then-Interior Minister Herbert Kickl of the FPÖ led to the seizure of materials from foreign partner services, prompting those services to curtail cooperation with Austria.

The intelligence service already classified the AfD's Saxony-Anhalt branch as "secured right-wing extremist" in November 2023, citing "numerous anti-Muslim, racist, and also antisemitic statements by officials and mandate holders." The AfD is contesting this classification in court. With state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6, where the AfD leads in polls, their top candidate Ulrich Siegmund recently suggested that abolishing the state's intelligence service is under consideration if the AfD forms the government. However, he noted that opinions within the AfD vary on this matter, and a decision would be made in due course.

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If the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt provides the Minister President, the champagne corks will pop in the Kremlin.