Frank-Ronald Bischoff, who won a constituency seat, has admitted to working as a senior Stasi officer.
For 12 years, the 78-year-old worked covertly to subdue anti-communist protests in the dying days of the GDR and targeted citizens who applied to leave, according to local reports.
When confronted about his role in the secret police in 2017, he told Bild: “I do not comment on questions regarding the Stasi. I faithfully and conscientiously fulfilled my duties according to the laws of the GDR.”
I recently saw a discussion where one of the commenters said something along the lines of:
Look at the NSDAP, many members were utter losers and failures before they joined the party where their competence was less important than their willingness to go along with the program.
The candidate in Rostock, Mr. Glaser was recently found out to have been convicted of bankrobbery. After that was made public, the AfD obviously had to sack him, his posters have not disappeared though
I’m sure the voters would mind if this was the point of debate
No they don't. They are aware of what and who they are voting for. The grudge against the supposedly clean tidy upper class has become so deep that the morally ambiguous seem more trustworthy to them.
Oh shit, Number 5 could be a good fit to be attacked by the racists looking for academic fraud. If only he wasn't Aryan, ehm I meant "white". /bitter sarcasm
enabling the secret service to act on the information they have instead of having to cooperate with the police
re-enabling forced military conscription of the youth
Yeah it's not an authoritarian regime yet, but the direction also isn't promising. And some people in the government absolutely can be called authoritarian. Most prominently the Innenminister Dobrindt. One of his first speeches in the current legislative period contained the following:
Die Sicherheitsbehörden sind schon zu oft unter den Generalverdacht gestellt worden, sie könnten etwas falschmachen. Wir müssen Schluss machen mit den Kennzeichnungspflichten, den Kontrollquittungen und den Beschwerdestellen, die eingeführt worden sind. Unsere Sicherheitsbehörden, sie haben unser Vertrauen verdient. Sie machen nicht alles falsch. Wir geben ihnen die Chance, dass sie bei dem, was sie schon alles verdammt richtigmachen, in der Zukunft noch mehr richtigmachen dürfen. Das ist die Aufgabe.
Which translates as follows:
The security authorities have too often been put under a general suspicion, they could be doing something wrong. We have to put a stop to the duty of identification, receipts of controls, and the complaints office that have been introduced. Our security authorities have earned our trust. They do not do everything wrong. We give them a chance, so that they are allowed, with all that they already do correctly, in the future to do even more correctly. That's the task.
If this is not textbook authoritarian mindset I don't know what is. Trust the police, remove accountability, even in the face of an ongoing streak of occurences in rightwing networks in the police force, and claim, all they do is good and well.
I disagree with the current handling of Pro-Palestine protests. They rarely hold up in court though.
The ICC case however is politics and bogus at that. Nicaragua wanted to issue a statement. The case is without content and will likely be dismissed from what I've gathered. Also Nicaragua is pro Russia so kind of the devil's advocate.
Yes cou can be sentenced for a few statements. The cases are limited though. Germany has no right of free expression, but to free opinion. Insulting someone is not covered. The only opinion you may not express are those deliberatly made to insue hatred or denial of the holocaust. Both of which have been clearly limited by the federal supreme court in its legality and its scope. Arguing that Germany is hence an unfree or authotarian country is simply a shallow conclusion. The right of free opinion has been taken to its limits over the years and is not abitrary or secret. Both of which I would deam necessary for it to constitute authotarianism.
I disagree with the current handling of Pro-Palestine protests. They rarely hold up in court though.
Just to unpack this: the handling of the protests are the actions of the government, the courts are explicitly not. So losing in front of the courts is not making the government look any better, the opposite is the case. It makes them look even worse.
How do you think is this a defence against the claim that the government is authoritarian?
26 Comments
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 3d
Former Stasi for 12 years? How fucking old is this asshole?
Hubi@feddit.org · 10 pts · 3d
Probably around 70 if he started working at 18.
ryper@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 3d
This article says he's 78.
elvith@feddit.org · 13 pts · 3d
That’s not like the other statements…
trollercoaster@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 3d
Probably the most decent thing he has ever done in his whole life.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 3d
That shouldn't be a disqualifier though
geissi@feddit.org · 5 pts · 3d
I recently saw a discussion where one of the commenters said something along the lines of:
Look at the NSDAP, many members were utter losers and failures before they joined the party where their competence was less important than their willingness to go along with the program.
Now, why does this list make me think of that?
wrinkle2409@lemmy.cafe · 5 pts · 3d
Is "producing pornography" a crime in Germany? Why is this listed there?
the_Interceptor@lemmus.org · 18 pts · 3d
Not a crime, but working in porn production doesn't really go well with the "traditional family values" the AfD promotes.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 3d
Traditional family values like doing coke, lying, stealing, cheating, you know, the usual stuff
wrinkle2409@lemmy.cafe · 4 pts · 3d
Ah.... now it makes sense. Thanks for clarifying
thesdev@feddit.org · 5 pts · 3d
Link to the source please.
No_Money_Just_Change@feddit.org · 5 pts · 2d
Why former neo Nazi, he is in the German neo nazi party
RidderSport@feddit.org · 4 pts · 3d
The candidate in Rostock, Mr. Glaser was recently found out to have been convicted of bankrobbery. After that was made public, the AfD obviously had to sack him, his posters have not disappeared though
majster@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 3d
Oh damn. Why didn't other parties campaign with this simple list? I'm sure the voters would mind if this was the point of debate
killingspark@feddit.org · 4 pts · 3d
No they don't. They are aware of what and who they are voting for. The grudge against the supposedly clean tidy upper class has become so deep that the morally ambiguous seem more trustworthy to them.
lennee@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3d
aaargh
MoonRaven@feddit.nl · 2 pts · 3d
People voted for them...
marcela@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 3d
Oh shit, Number 5 could be a good fit to be attacked by the racists looking for academic fraud. If only he wasn't Aryan, ehm I meant "white". /bitter sarcasm
Malica@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 3d
Clearly folks you want running things
timewarp@lemmy.world · -7 pts · 3d
The people that enabled the authoritarian genocide-supporting government of Germany for several years shouldn't be surprised.
RidderSport@feddit.org · 2 pts · 3d
You can say a lot about the current government, but authoritarian they are not.
killingspark@feddit.org · 2 pts · 3d
Well,
Yeah it's not an authoritarian regime yet, but the direction also isn't promising. And some people in the government absolutely can be called authoritarian. Most prominently the Innenminister Dobrindt. One of his first speeches in the current legislative period contained the following:
Which translates as follows:
If this is not textbook authoritarian mindset I don't know what is. Trust the police, remove accountability, even in the face of an ongoing streak of occurences in rightwing networks in the police force, and claim, all they do is good and well.
timewarp@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3d
They most certainly are:
https://www.tni.org/en/article/germanys-crackdown-on-palestine-solidarity
https://elsc.support/blog/the-limits-of-human-rights-credibility/
https://apnews.com/article/world-court-israel-germany-genocide-nicaragua-arms-1cac60bd1e9f7be1b32523dbb060f6dd
It's also one of the few countries in the world that aggressively pursues harsh prison sentences for speech and thought crimes.
RidderSport@feddit.org · 2 pts · 3d
There's a lot to unpack here.
I disagree with the current handling of Pro-Palestine protests. They rarely hold up in court though.
The ICC case however is politics and bogus at that. Nicaragua wanted to issue a statement. The case is without content and will likely be dismissed from what I've gathered. Also Nicaragua is pro Russia so kind of the devil's advocate.
Yes cou can be sentenced for a few statements. The cases are limited though. Germany has no right of free expression, but to free opinion. Insulting someone is not covered. The only opinion you may not express are those deliberatly made to insue hatred or denial of the holocaust. Both of which have been clearly limited by the federal supreme court in its legality and its scope. Arguing that Germany is hence an unfree or authotarian country is simply a shallow conclusion. The right of free opinion has been taken to its limits over the years and is not abitrary or secret. Both of which I would deam necessary for it to constitute authotarianism.
killingspark@feddit.org · 1 pts · 2d
Just to unpack this: the handling of the protests are the actions of the government, the courts are explicitly not. So losing in front of the courts is not making the government look any better, the opposite is the case. It makes them look even worse.
How do you think is this a defence against the claim that the government is authoritarian?