CDU Legislator Shares Image of Ammunition Magazine with Green Party Colleagues
The atmosphere in German politics is becoming more confrontational, even in Saxony-Anhalt. A Green politician found this out firsthand when a CDU member of the state parliament reacted to his sarcastic post with an image. The image, shared by Alexander Rauscher, depicted spent cartridge casings.
According to the "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung", an investigation was launched after Rauscher posted the picture on X. As a result, Rauscher's office in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament was inspected. A spokesperson for the state parliament confirmed the visit to the German Press Agency.
Rauscher had responded to a meme posted by Green party state leader Christian Franke-Langmach. Franke-Langmach had suggested that Rauscher's social media contributions were giving him a headache. Rauscher, who is from the Harz region and is a hunter, has often been critical of the Greens. Franke-Langmach claimed that Rauscher had labeled the party as "unconstitutional."
Rauscher responded to Franke-Langmach's meme with an image of a one-euro coin, a strip of tablets, and three cartridges, captioned: "As a conservative, these are the treatments I have available." The post later disappeared.
This incident led to a visit to Rauscher's office. Suspicions arose that the image had been taken in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament. However, the state parliament spokesman assured that it was not a search but a friendly conversation initiated by the state parliament president and Rauscher's party colleague, Gunnar Schellenberger. Rauscher willingly opened the drawers of his furniture, with the head of the object protection service also present. Rauscher confirmed that he has no weapons or ammunition in the state parliament.
Rauscher claimed that he did not take the photo and does not know its origin. He has not yet made any further statements on the matter.
Following the incident, other politicians weighed in. Eva von Angern, the Left party faction leader, asked the state parliament president to investigate the matter. Cornelia Lüddemann, the Green party faction leader, stated that Rauscher was neither qualified nor trustworthy to carry a weapon. She called for the weapons authority in Rauscher's district to immediately revoke his permit to own weapons according to the Weapons Act.
Guido Heuer, the CDU faction leader, stated that the matter was being internally evaluated. "We are in discussion," he said, promising a statement later in the day.
Frank-Langemach also responded, stating that he did not feel personally threatened by Rauscher's image. However, he fearing that such memes could encourage violence. He called on politicians to take responsibility for the debate culture, which Rauscher had, in his opinion, failed to respect.
This incident is not the first time a CDU politician from the eastern branch has drawn attention for a martial image. In early January, a controversial election poster was circulated, which depicted a farmer defending himself on a field with a pitchfork. The "opponent" was named as the traffic light government, which was accused of interfering with agricultural diesel. This sparked heated protests among farmers, some of which turned violent.
The Commission launched an investigation into the incident involving Alexander Rauscher, following his controversial post in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament. In light of this, the spokesperson for The Commission confirmed to the German Press Agency that the visit to Rauscher's office was a friendly conversation initiated by the state parliament president and Rauscher's party colleague, Gunnar Schellenberger.
