ZDF defends interviewing AfD leader for children’s news

ZDF is defending a decision that drew criticism before Saxony-Anhalt’s state election: its children’s news program logo! interviewed AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund, the party’s leading candidate in the state.

The interview appeared on KiKA on September 3. Former Saxony-Anhalt student representative Lucienne Balke questioned Siegmund and the sitting premier, Sven Schulze of the CDU. Editors cut their answers together in response to largely identical questions.

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In the end, we do not base our decisions on which shitstorm threatens, but on our mandate: children need reliable information so they can form their own opinions. Even when it becomes uncomfortable.

The segment covered everyday subjects, including favorite school subjects and youth slang, as well as political issues such as teacher shortages, homeschooling and separate classes for refugees. On social media, critics objected to the inclusion of an AfD representative because the state branch has been classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as confirmed far-right.

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Many people in Saxony-Anhalt support the party.

Before the broadcast, Constanze Knöchel, head of logo! news, said the program’s responsibility was to provide children with reliable information so they could form their own opinions, “even when it becomes uncomfortable.” Presenter Sherif Rizkallah later described the AfD as highly controversial and mentioned the classification of its state branch as far-right.

Rizkallah said the editorial decision reflected polling in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD had led by a wide margin for some time. “Many people in Saxony-Anhalt support the party,” he said, and the AfD plays “a major role” in the state’s politics. Authorities classify the state branch as confirmed far-right, meaning they consider it established that the branch is hostile to the constitution and does not support the free democratic basic order.

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A major role.