Flyer affair about Aiwanger: Investigations against teacher initiated
There was suspicion that the teacher illegally disclosed information from a disciplinary proceeding against Aiwanger from his student days to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" in summer 2023. The now 77-year-old man was therefore accused of breaching professional secrecy and violating private secrets.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, there were indications of contacts between the man and journalists from the "Süddeutsche". However, it could not be proven which communication took place in detail or if privileged information was passed on. There were no witnesses or other evidence. The "Süddeutsche" made no statements with reference to the editorial secrecy and source protection.
The accused himself refused to make a statement. According to the investigators, the newspaper could have become aware of the leaflet from a student project in the school year 1988/1989, which reproduced the leaflet.
Aiwanger had been a growing student with an antisemitic leaflet in his schoolbag. He denies having written it. The debate about the leaflet dominated the summer and autumn of the Bavarian state election campaign.
However, the Free Voters were not significantly harmed by the discussion about their chairman in the federal politics despite criticism. They achieved the second best election result with 15.8 percent and continue to govern in coalition with the CSU.
- Despite the ongoing investigations by the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the leaflet affair involving Hubert Aiwanger and the "Süddeutsche Zeitung," the Free Voters, led by Aiwanger, managed to secure the second-best election result in Bavaria.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office in Regensburg found indications of contacts between the accused teacher and journalists from the "Süddeutsche Zeitung," but they could not provide concrete evidence of privileged information being shared.
- Although the teacher was accused of breaching professional secrecy and violating private secrets by disclosing confidential information about Hubert Aiwanger to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung," he refused to make a statement during the investigations.
- The leaflet affair involving Aiwanger, which surfaced during his student days, became a major topic during the Bavarian state election campaign, but it did not significantly impact the Free Voters' election results.
- Hubert Aiwanger, the chairman of the Free Voters, was involved in a controversy over an antisemitic leaflet discovered in his schoolbag during his student days, but he denies having written it and remains a prominent figure in Bavarian politics.
