German conservatives tell ex-spy chief to jump, or be pushed
January 30, 2023
The leadership of Germany's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) on Monday urged the former head of Germany's domestic intelligence service, Hans-Georg Maassen, to leave the party.
After repeating a string of extremist conspiracy theories, Maassen has proved to be a source of embarrassment for the German conservatives. The CDU — which could face a lengthy and complicated process to have Maassen removed against his will — has now asked him to leave voluntarily.
Who is Hans-Georg Maassen?
The former boss of Germany's Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Maassen was removed in 2018 after appearing to downplay far-right violence against migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz.
Since then, he has become a vocal but marginal figure on the extreme right of the center-right party, which led Germany's coalition governments under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2021.
Maassen was deemed to have gone too far in a tweet he published in mid-January saying that "the driving forces in the political media sphere" was "eliminatory racism against whites."
He is also accused of repeating antisemitic tropes.
On Saturday, Maassen was elected as head of the Werte-Union, a group not formally linked to the party but which describes itself as representing conservative members.
What did the CDU say?
Referring to Maassen, a resolution from the CDU on Monday said that "there is no place in our party for his statements and the ideas they express."
"Again and again he uses the language from the milieu of antisemites and conspiracy ideologues," they said. "Dr. Maassen is obviously not interested in the welfare of the CDU. On the contrary, he constantly violates the principles and rules of the party."
The resolution said the 60-year-old should leave the party before a February 5 deadline or face "a party exclusion procedure and to withdraw his membership rights with immediate effect."
The statement also sought to distance the CDU from the Werte-Union, saying the two were incompatible.
"Each of its members must ask themselves where their political home is," it said.
"There is no need for a so-called Werte-Union, which according to the statutes stands outside of our organization anyway. Rather, the so-called Werte-Union and its ideas are less and less compatible with the values of the CDU."
rc/dj (dpa, Reuters, AP)
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