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BERLIN (AP) – The head of the German intelligence services out of the German government will not be given a new job with the government after being attacked by one of the ruling parties, the minister said on Monday. l & # 39; Interior. It was a late turn of a saga that contributed to the unpopularity of the administration.
The center-left Social Democrats, members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition, demanded the withdrawal of Hans-Georg Maassen from the BfV spy agency in September after appearing to downplay the violence of the country. 39, far right against migrants in the city of Chemnitz (east).
The ensuing haggling had a negative impact on a coalition already notorious for its quarrels. Its leaders initially agreed to make Maassen a vice-minister of the interior, technically a promotion with a salary increase, but renegotiated the agreement despite a negative reaction.
They then agreed to appoint him "special adviser" to the Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer.
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Seehofer said Monday that he was instead sending early retirement to Maassen, 55 years old. This was motivated, he said, by the manuscript of a speech in which Maassen used "unacceptable formulations" that made it impossible to continue working with him "in any function. whether it's ".
Seehofer said Thomas Haldenwang, MP for Maassen at the BfV, will assume the duties of Maassen until a decision is made on the appointment of a permanent successor.
German media reported that in the manuscript of a farewell speech delivered in mid-October with European counterparts, Maassen claimed that the "radical leftist forces" in the Social Democrats wanted to use his remarks as an excuse to end a government coalition that they never wanted to join.
He also stated that he was known as "a critic of idealistic, naive, and leftist politics about aliens and security." Seehofer said that these words "went beyond the borders".
Seehofer, the leader of the conservative Christian Union Social Union, had previously defended Maassen. He said he heard about the speech on Friday and was "personally disappointed".
The saga began with Maassen's response to violent right-wing demonstrations following the murder of a German allegedly committed by migrants in Chemnitz. Maassen said his agency had no reliable evidence that foreigners had been "stalked" on the street – a term Merkel had used.
A video published by a leftist group showed demonstrators pursuing and attacking a stranger, but Maassen questioned its authenticity.
