The ban on the political magazine “Compact,” which, as boasted by Nancy Faeser, the German Minister of the Interior, “dealt a heavy blow to the right-wing extremist scene,” has united free intellectuals to declare this act an unparalleled act of vandalism. Whether they agree with the views of Jürgen Elsässer, the magazine’s editor-in-chief whose publications had millions of visits, or not, German legal experts consider this a dangerous precedent not seen in Germany since the time of the Third Reich.
Renowned German lawyer, attorney, and lecturer in public, international, and European law at several German universities, Ulrich Vosgerau, speaks to our portal about whether the ban on freedom of speech grossly violated the country’s constitution, whether this precedent could lead to a series of others, and whether Germany is approaching dangerous red lines that separate it from fascism.
You sharply condemned the ban on the magazine “Compact,” reminding that nothing similar has happened on the German public scene in recent history. Were you alone in your criticism of this government move?
No lawyer who has spoken publicly in Germany on this topic in recent days has judged the actions of the federal interior minister as legally impeccable or harmless. Everyone agrees that this is not the way to go. If this measure passes, the next step could be the ban of the largest opposition party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
After such a legal precedent, can any criticism of the government be classified as right-wing activity and legally sanctioned following the example of “Compact”?
That is indeed the case. Seriously: If you publicly state in Germany today that “it is not in our interest to become the welfare office for the entire world” – which is the height of common sense in one sentence – you risk being labeled by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a “right-wing extremist” based on the argument that you denied the “human dignity” of a large part of the world’s population. This apparently consists in the fact that at any moment you can enter Germany and request social benefits…
Migration is not a topic of mainstream media in Germany, I assume following the pattern – what is not written about does not exist as a problem?
On German television, they try to distract people from all real problems by imposing the topic of climate change. People should think about, for example, how they should change their diet to make it cold again, even though this has been a fairly cool summer. All of this is extremely absurd: we no longer eat meat and ride bicycles so it gets colder outside, and we freeze…
You were a participant in the meeting in Potsdam from which Soros’s media crafted a global affair. Participants at the meeting were accused of devising a secret plan to expel millions of migrants. What is the actual truth?
In the German Wikipedia about the “Potsdam meeting,” the whole thing is described as a “meeting of right-wing extremists” (which in Germany is a synonym for violent neo-Nazis), and this is even written in the title. But that’s the point. Actually, the utmost indignation arises from the fact that, although “remigration” was actually discussed, no “right-wing extremist” was present at the meeting, but the meeting was organized by conservative and economically liberal freethinkers and entrepreneurs, actually quite wealthy people. There was a normal conversation with Martin Sellner at the meeting.
You represented the mentioned entrepreneurs in court. With what arguments did you break down the false accusations?
Apparently, public broadcasters imagined that when participants realized they were “caught,” they would panic, try to deny their presence, or confirm they did not know who Martin Sellner was, because otherwise, they would run away screaming. I played a key role in the defensive fight of the “Düsseldorfer Kreis,” that is, this group of entrepreneurs, in court and in the media, and it turned out completely differently. We said, of course, Martin Sellner was present, he presented a book, and we – like everyone in Germany – have the right to talk to him at any time if we want, and by the way, he spoke very reasonably in Potsdam and left a great impression. So, people who are by no means “right-wing extremists,” but established people, made it clear that they no longer play by the political rules of the left and do not accept their role as arbitrators, because precisely such behavior, which was primary under Merkel, became the standard in the CDU. All this led Germany to a catastrophe.
Mainstream media did not “apologize” after the trial. It seems they remain consistent in their interpretation of events?
The so-called “investigation” which is now winning one media award after another is actually a fictional performance in which actors make it clear that what they say is, of course, not actually stated. “Correctiv” clearly stated in courts that suggestions about alleged plans for deportation or expulsion were not factual statements and part of the discussions that actually took place, but condemning speculations about the alleged secret wishes of some participants, and that there was nothing illegal or unconstitutional in the promotion of Martin Sellner’s book. At the same time, the public claims that the fictional performance is actually an “investigation” that “revealed” some plans.
What is the role of the left in creating political reality in Germany?
My diagnosis is that the organized left in Germany despairs over the fact that, although it largely controls the media, it cannot change reality. The left itself experiences “cognitive dissonance,” not knowing whether it has won or lost. The answer is probably this: in public media, the left has finally won, but compared to reality, it is fighting a losing battle.
By denying media space for different opinions, does the left still buy itself time?
Germany is in a catastrophic situation, and since the publication of the book “Germany Abolishes Itself” by Thilo Sarrazin in August 2010, probably the most successful German non-fiction work since World War II, no one can say they haven’t noticed anything. Existing problems are caused by government failure. It is significant that leftists who attacked Sarrazin’s book never sought to discuss with him and refute his diagnoses with arguments; it was always just about preventing his appearance, not giving him a minute to speak! Accordingly, AfD politicians are almost never invited to public talk shows. The left knows that it has actually exhausted its arguments. There is no really good argument as to why millions of young men from the Middle East and Africa should migrate into social security systems they never contributed to and never will because they mostly have no diploma or qualification. Or why we witness the systematic destruction, among other things, of the German automotive and chemical industries, which the country owes its prosperity to, and which should actually benefit and be in our interest. Instead of answers, the left says – as always – that skeptics and critics of this madness are “right-wing extremists” who “should not be given a platform.” The decisively left-wing, but reasonable social scientist Wolfgang Streeck said in 2015 regarding the refugee crisis that in Germany, common sense is simply declared “right-wing extremism.”
Will the abolition of freedom of the press be followed by a ban on opposition parties that do not share the same values as the ruling traffic light coalition?
I assume that sooner or later – probably after the elections in three states in September – a procedure will be initiated to ban the AfD. Simply because they have already tried everything else and it didn’t help. By the way, I would talk less about “right-wing forces” and more about reality-oriented politics that is contrary to the utopian mentality dominating most of the media. There are people oriented towards reality in all political parties, but – precisely because they are realists! – they know that a clear commitment to reality-oriented politics is the path to career nullification under the accusation that behind realism lies Nazism, and the corresponding campaign is conducted. This game could end only, as bad as it sounds now, but then when the “Nazi accusation” would no longer have an effect due to exhaustion in the eyes of the public but be categorized as an award. In some of the new federal states, this has already happened, which in turn causes great concern among many Western Germans, including quite conservative ones.
