Parliament - Raab case: AfD parliamentary group fails with motion for sub-committee
In the debate surrounding a critical letter from media politician Heike Raab (SPD) to SWR, the AfD parliamentary group in the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament has failed with a motion to set up a committee of inquiry. It should be clarified whether the State Secretary had acted alone or had the backing of Minister President Malu Dreyer (SPD), explained AfD parliamentary group leader Jan Bollinger on Thursday as the reason for the initiative in the Mainz parliament. The special session of the state parliament a few days ago had not shed any light on the events.
The other parliamentary groups represented in the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament rejected the AfD parliamentary group's motion. SPD MP Daniel Schäffner accused the AfD parliamentary group of not being interested in clarifying the events. With its motion, the opposition faction was pursuing the overarching goal of abolishing public broadcasting.
Green MP Bernhard Braun also warned that the AfD parliamentary group was not seeking to clarify matters, but to damage public broadcasting. FDP parliamentary group leader Philipp Fernis denied that the AfD parliamentary group was concerned with defending freedom of the press. "What they want is to throw brown mud in the hope that something will stick."
CDU MP Marcus Klein (CDU) said in the debate that even after the special session of the state parliament, many questions remained unanswered. This was unsatisfactory. The events therefore required further discussion. However, the motion submitted by the AfD parliamentary group was not suitable for this purpose.
Lisa-Marie Jeckel from the Free Voters accused Bollinger of wanting to make a name for himself as the new strongman of the AfD parliamentary group with the motion. The Free Voters parliamentary group will discuss in January whether a committee of inquiry could provide the necessary clarification.
Specifically, the case concerned a letter from Raab to SWR state broadcasting director Ulla Fiebig in the spring about a broadcast on SWR television. It was about the political future of SPD politician Roger Lewentz, who had resigned as state interior minister in connection with the Ahr valley flood disaster.
In the interview on April 11, an SWR correspondent made the following assessment, among others: "This is probably unique in Germany that a state interior minister, who has to take political responsibility for the many deaths caused by this terrible Ahr disaster, remains state chairman of his party." Raab criticized this statement in her letter as "objectively wrong". Fiebig replied in a letter that the correspondent's statement was classified as an expression of opinion and not as a statement of fact.
The opposition saw Raab's letter, on a letterhead from the state government, as an inadmissible attempt to influence reporting in favor of a party friend and as a threat against the broadcaster. Raab had already admitted mistakes before the special session of the state parliament requested by the CDU and the Free Voters and had resigned from her positions on SWR committees. Her successor there is State Secretary Denis Alt (SPD).
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- Countering the allegations made by Heike Raab (SPD), the AfD parliamentary group in Rhineland-Palatinate's state parliament aimed to set up a committee of inquiry, led by Jan Bollinger, to investigate whether State Secretary Malu Dreyer (SPD) had acted alone or had the support of the Minister President.
- The AfD parliamentary group failed to garner support from other parliamentary groups in the state parliament for their motion, with SPD MP Daniel Schäffner accusing them of not being interested in clarifying the events.
- CDU MP Marcus Klein agreed that many questions remained unanswered, even after the special session of the state parliament, and urged for further discussions on the matter.
- The Green MP Bernhard Braun and FDP parliamentary group leader Philipp Fernis both warned against the AfD parliamentary group's true intentions, as they suspected they were not interested in clarifying the events, but rather damaging public broadcasting.
- Lisa-Marie Jeckel from the Free Voters confirmed that they would discuss the possibility of a committee of inquiry to provide necessary clarification during their January meeting.
- The case at hand revolved around a letter from Raab to Ulla Fiebig, SWR's state broadcasting director, about a broadcast on SWR television that criticized political future of SPD politician Roger Lewentz.
- Stefan Raab, a well-known media personality, was not directly mentioned in the article but his sister Heike Raab (SPD) was involved in this controversy with SWR.
Source: www.stern.de
