Politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Germany’s eastern state of Thuringia have been accused of filing parliamentary questions on sensitive issues as a way to spy for Russia.
The allegations come as a planned visit to Moscow by AfD deputy federal parliamentary party leader Markus Frohnmaier has raised eyebrows among members of other parties in the federal parliament, the Bundestag.
AfD shows ‘special interest’ in sensitive data – Interior Minister
Over the past 12 months, AfD lawmakers in the eastern state of Thuringia had filed 47 questions on topics such as critical infrastructure, state Interior Minister Georg Meier said. Handelsblatt Newspaper.
“The impression is almost inescapable that the AfD is working through the Kremlin order list with its inquiries,” Meier said. He said the questions sought to “increase the intensity and depth of detail”.
According to Maier, a member of the Social Democrats (SPD), the junior partner in the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, politicians had asked for information on transport, water supply and digital and energy infrastructure.
“The AfD shows a particular interest in police IT and capabilities, such as in the field of drone detection and defence,” Meier told the newspaper.
Maier said AfD lawmakers have filed similar investigations elsewhere in Germany.
Ringo Mühlmann, an AfD politician in the parliament of Thuringia, dismissed Maier’s allegations as a “bizarre conspiracy theory” and accused him of trying to “criminalize political opponents”, adding that such inquiries were a “cornerstone of democratic oversight”.
The AfD in Thuringia is classified as “confirmed right-wing extremist” by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
“Putin will vote for AfD,” says CDU’s Spahn.
Politicians from the CDU and the Green Party in the Bundestag, where the AfD is the strongest opposition force, have also sounded the alarm over the party’s ties to Russia.
Marc Heinrichmann of Chancellor Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU), chairman of the parliamentary committee that oversees intelligence activities, told the newspaper that the AfD was under Russian influence.
“Undoubtedly, Russia takes advantage of its obvious influence in parliament, especially over the AfD, to spy and obtain sensitive information,” he said.
Green politician Constantin von Notz, vice-chairman of the same committee, also accused the AfD of being in the service of an authoritarian regime.
“The AfD harms our country by turning itself into a mouthpiece for the dictators of this world and taking their narratives into public discussions and our parliament,” he said. Handelsblatt,
Jens Spahn, head of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc’s parliamentary party, told broadcasters RTL and NTV on Wednesday that “[Russian President Vladimir] “Putin will vote for the AfD.”
“The AfD wants a weak Germany, a Germany that is under Russian influence, under the influence of the war makers,” he said.
AfD denies the allegations
Bernd Baumann, chief whip of the AfD in the Bundestag, said such allegations were “paranoid suspicions”.
he told Handelsblatt The SPD and conservatives have allowed the infrastructure in Germany to deteriorate for decades.
“Through our inquiries we highlight these problems in the interest of citizens,” he said.
Markus Frohnmaier, who has faced numerous accusations in the past of being close to the Kremlin, has also defended his planned visit to Moscow against CSU General Secretary Martin Huber’s accusations of “treason”.
Frohnmaier said he was only concerned about Germany’s interests with his visit.
Edited by: Jennifer Cimino Gonzalez