Several police unions have warned against the AfD participating in government in Saxony-Anhalt, as reported by Zeit. The reason is the party’s high poll numbers, which stand at 41 percent, approaching an absolute majority. The unions see the functioning of the democratic rule of law as endangered.
Dirk Peglow, chairman of the Federal Association of Criminal Investigators, told Handelsblatt that it is about “access to security-relevant information,” especially in the interior and justice departments. Heiko Teggatz, federal chairman of the German Police Union, warned against the replacement of political officials: “This naturally carries the risk that parties like the AfD or the Left can install their party soldiers in key positions.” He proposed limiting the appointment of political officials to the state secretary level.
Jochen Kopelke, federal chairman of the Police Union (GdP), expressed concern about possible restrictions on the right to remonstrate. This right allows civil servants to refuse unlawful orders. Kopelke said he is worried “how the AfD criticizes the right to remonstrate and certainly wants to restrict it.” He considers it conceivable that AfD government members could be denied access to classified information.
A new state parliament will be elected in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6. AfD, classified as definitely right-wing extremist by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is far ahead of the CDU of Sven Schulze in polls, with Ulrich Siegmund as its top candidate. Several state interior ministers had already warned against an AfD government over the weekend; Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) spoke of a possible “coup.”
