“Right-wing radicals do not belong”

adminonDecember 30, 2021January 27, 2022Leave a Comment

Disagreement on refugee policy: Horst Seehofer and Angela Merkel © Peter Kneffel

With critical statements towards Angela Merkel and her refugee policy, the CSU causes a stir. The CSU local association Viechtach does not want to accept this any further. Alois Pinzl talks about a corresponding position paper on our site interview.

Interviewer: They oppose "right-wing slogans" and "sharpening" in the ranks of the Christian Socialists and say quite clearly what, for example, is not acceptable at all, such as the infamous quote from CSU Secretary General Andreas Scheuer, who spoke about ministrating Senegalese playing soccer.

Alois Pinzl (acting chairman of the local CSU association in Viechtach): This is one of the statements that we from the local association did not like at all. But there are more statements where you definitely get the impression: It is very right-wing and we want to distance ourselves from right-wing populist statements quite clearly. This is exactly what we told the Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer.

Interviewer: Are there already reactions to it?

Pinzl: Yesterday I already had a telephone conversation with the Secretary General Andreas Scheuer. We have agreed that there should be a debate in December and we have said that we will not take back anything from our position paper. That is our opinion. There is also always a demand from the grassroots to speak out and we did that.

Interviewer: How long has this been going on that you no longer feel reasonably represented by certain gentlemen in the leadership team??
Pinzl: So first of all, we already feel satisfactorily represented. That doesn’t have so much to do with politics as it has to do primarily with statements in the refugee debate that are very populist. In our opinion, they have no place in this sensitive context.
Interviewer: As the CSU in Viechbach, do you have any experience in refugee policy?
Pinzl: We have several accommodations for refugees here in Viechbach. We have no problems with the people. Our population is very open to this. There are three members from my local executive committee who are very involved in integration policy on an honorary basis.

Interviewer: You are also annoyed by the constant criticism of the chancellor by leading CSU men. What would you like to see there?

Pinzl: I think when you have a partnership between CSU and CDU, you have to see eye-to-eye and you always have to be in partnership with a partner. This has to do with mutual respect, and we don’t think much of this ranting. Sensible politics can only be made with sensible togetherness.

Interviewer: What kind of party do you want the CSU to be in the future, or to become again??

Pinzl: We want our party to move away from the right. But I want to emphasize again clearly: We find the policy that the CSU is making here in Bavaria to be a good policy. What bothers us are the statements and if there are people somewhere who are very right-wing, let them switch to AfD. We don’t want to have right-wing radicals in our party.

The interview was conducted by Uta Vorbrodt.

After the recent controversies at the Islam conference, parts of the SPD are calling on Muslims to boycott the roundtable. The appeal has met with protest not only from the CDU/CSU – but also from the Greens and the Alevi community. In an interview, SPD politician Lale Akgun, who heads the "International Cooperation" department in the North Rhine-Westphalia Integration Ministry, explains her opposition to the conference.

Interviewer: Calling for a boycott after a heated debate is what the vice chairman of the Alevi community in Germany literally calls "nonsense". How would you describe a boycott of the Islam Conference?–

Lale Akgun: Well, you know that I was very critical of this Islam Conference from the beginning and was of the opinion that it should be abolished. So, one should not call for a boycott of the conference, but quietly bury this Islam conference.

Interviewer: For what reason?–

Lale Akgun: I think that if you look at the meaning of a conference at the federal level, you quickly come to the conclusion that the federal government has little to say about religion. They know: Religion is a state matter and must be dealt with at the state level. There the really important, effective, concrete decisions are made, also for the religious groups. That is the federation makes at this point rather symbol politics. And I think enough symbolic politics have already been done on this ie, and the Islam Conference, in my opinion, did nothing at all. And at the moment it even has the opposite effect, it enrages people, it creates polarization in society. And for this reason, I am of the opinion that enough is enough with the Islam Conference.

Interviewer: Interior Minister Friedrich is being criticized – is he really so unsuitable or does this not rather fit into the stereotypical image that a CSU politician in this office likes to be put into at the next best opportunity??–

Lale Akgun: Well, I think the federal interior minister actually really put his foot in his mouth at this point. It’s not like you’re doing a conference to control or criticize people. That is not the purpose of a conference. So they don’t hold a conference with a target group and then tell this target group that they don’t belong to it. That’s why I believe that the Federal Minister of the Interior has made a very bad start with the Islam Conference. It was much more clumsy than its predecessors and has now also lost a certain amount of trust. It’s hard to go on at this point.

Interviewer: What do you think of Friedrich’s idea of a security partnership between Muslims and the German state??–

Lale Akgun: That is now really nonsense high 3. What kind of security partnership is this supposed to be?. I don’t like to use hackneyed words like general suspicion and so on, but I think to think that you could get people in the mosque to look at who is talking in conformity with democracy here and who is not, that’s not very effective because most people are of course in conformity with democracy. And the others who are not will be careful not to say so in public. The state needs and has other mechanisms to control, to monitor those who do not agree with our democracy. We have security, we have police, these are the right organs to watch people and to ensure our security. But not the mosque community or the imam.

Interviewer: Say simply, abolish Islam Conference, or how could it be continued or better designed?–

Lale Akgun: I say simply, abolish Islam Conference, because the thing has outlived itself. It was a media hype, to use the word for once. There has been enough talk about it in public. One has noticed the controversy. And I think at this point it has been good, and we or those responsible should now turn to the concrete work, if we really want to achieve something, and that is where the work really needs to be done: on the ground in the communities and at the state level. And otherwise, I think it’s enough with the symbol politics.
Interview: Uta Vorbrodt

With a view to the renewed possibility of public church services, Archbishop Hans-Josef Becker of Paderborn has called on the faithful to show special consideration. Nor is it just joy over the relaxation that resonates with him.

While he is grateful for the decision of the North Rhine-Westphalian state government to allow public worship services, Becker said Wednesday in Paderborn. At the same time, however, the conditions under which they are to be celebrated in an assembled local community are difficult.

The precautionary measures and hygiene regulations for the celebration of church services in the Corona crisis meant an enormous effort, especially for pastoral staff in pastoral associations and parishes, explained Becker. Likewise, a lot is also demanded of those celebrating in the church services. The implementation of the measures can only take place locally, because many things cannot be controlled and managed centrally.

In an absolutely exceptional situation

It is good "that we can live and experience real community again, at least step by step, in addition to media and digital community," Becker emphasized. This is what the church lives on. He said he was impressed by the media and digital engagement during this time, which for him continues to be part of it. Real-life experience, however, could not simply replace this.

"We are in an absolutely exceptional situation that we have to deal with together," said the Archbishop of Paderborn. There is still a long way to go before we can speak of normality. It is important to make the best out of the situation.

Protective measures for church services include spacing visitors, separate entrances and exits, and disinfectants. The government of North Rhine-Westphalia had declared that from 1. May an worship services and other "gatherings for the practice of religion" are possible again due to the protection concepts of the religious communities.

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