The SPD and FDP once again bring out the big guns against the Minister of the Interior. The CDU man broke the law and was a "shame" for the state police. The green head of government, on the other hand, praises his minister and warns of "moral furor".
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann has rejected the opposition's application to dismiss his Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU). The cessation of the public prosecutor's proceedings against a payment of 15,000 euros in the so-called letter affair is "not a conviction," said the Green politician on Wednesday in the state parliament. The proceedings against Strobl were thus done with. "It means the presumption of innocence applies." Kretschmann accused the SPD and FDP of using "double standards". Strobl had passed on a letter from a lawyer to a journalist.
Kretschmann recalled that the current head of the Chancellery, Wolfgang Schmidt (SPD), had to pay 5,000 euros for a post on Twitter. As State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Schmidt had published a small part of the search warrant on Twitter in connection with searches by the Osnabrück public prosecutor's office. Kretschmann said that the allegation had been cleared up "in a proper and constitutional process". "It's all correct." Addressing the SPD and FDP, he said it was remarkable "that they are so outraged today while they were silent back then."
The Prime Minister explained that the principle of proportionality must always apply. He was a staunch opponent of any "moral furor, executionerism and prejudice". The Green praised Strobl's track record in internal security. "We have one of the lowest crime rates in Germany." In addition, the police are stronger in terms of personnel and finances than ever before in the history of the country. The CDU politician also stands for a "defensive democracy". Kretschmann said: "That's why Thomas Strobl remains Minister of the Interior of this country."
SPD parliamentary group leader Andreas Stoch said that Strobl had broken the law. "There is only one way to avert damage to the country: and that would be to resign immediately from the post of interior minister." His FDP colleague Hans-Ulrich Rülke called the affair the "low point" of political culture in the country's history. The Minister of the Interior is not suitable as a role model for the state police, of which he is the top employer. "He is a disgrace to the Baden-Württemberg police." The SPD and FDP doubt that all members of the Greens and CDU really support Strobl. AfD faction leader Bernd Gögel called the debate on the application a "show event".
The parliamentary group leaders of the Greens and the CDU, Andreas Schwarz and Manuel Hagel, also rejected the dismissal request. "He is dubious and unfounded in the matter," said Schwarz. He called on the SPD and FDP to concentrate on the factual work in the committee of inquiry and to refrain from "perverse personal discussions and cheap polemics". Hagel accused the opposition of "scandalizing". The criticism is becoming "more and more shrill, more and more malicious and yes, more and more hurtful". Hagel called on the SPD and FDP to focus on the "real problems" of people in the crisis.
