GdP sees a need for clarification in the event of an AfD government with “certain extremist people”

The police union (GdP) is concerned about the AfD's possible government responsibility in Saxony-Anhalt. “First of all, the police do their work every day for the safety of everyone in this federal state,” said the GdP chairman, Jochen Kopelke, to the German Press Agency on the sidelines of the GdP federal congress in Berlin.

If the AfD were to succeed in forming a government in Magdeburg in December, in his view it would have significant consequences. If the AfD's election program were incorporated into the police's everyday life, police work would change.

No new policewomen?

Kopelke said he expected that no more women would be hired. The AfD's election manifesto states that an increase in the proportion of women in the police force, as sought by the other parties, can only be achieved "if the qualification criteria for women are lowered" since significantly fewer women apply. This harms the police service and puts male competitors at a disadvantage. The AfD rejects this.

“We see vigilante groups, and we see that police work is based on the priorities of the party and not on the needs of the population,” Kopelke continued. This would be a great danger, “because the police officers with the monopoly of violence enforce the laws.”

The AfD's election program in Saxony-Anhalt envisages a voluntary citizen watchdog as the “third pillar of the security architecture”. There is also talk of a “rebalancing” of the police’s tasks.

That's why federal and state interior ministers are preparing to answer the question, "How do you deal with another state government that, among other things, definitely has extreme, extremist people in its ranks who would then be responsible?"

It also needs to be clarified what information could still be passed on to Saxony-Anhalt. "Which support staff are coming? How are arrest warrants actually executed?" These are all questions that affect the everyday life of the police. The conference of federal and state interior ministers (IMK) must “find answers now because the police cannot give them.”

IMK chairman sees “serious situation” in Saxony-Anhalt

The chairman of the Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK), Hamburg's Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD), said in his speech to the GdP delegates that the AfD's strong performance in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt had created a “serious situation”. No police officer is allowed to “follow an employer who abandons the law and order”.

The oath binds every police officer to the constitution and not to political power. He hopes that the police officers in Saxony-Anhalt do not get involved in this conflict. The AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund wants to become Prime Minister. For this he needs three votes from other ranks.

And in Berlin?

For other reasons, Kopelke is concerned about the coalition negotiations between the Left Party, the Greens and the SPD in Berlin. The Left and the AfD are not comparable, he said. However, there are parallels in some points, such as the negative attitude towards the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

In Berlin there is also the problem that organized crime “has parts of the Left party in its hands”. There are also anti-Semites in the party's ranks. "We police officers protect Jews. It can't be the case that anti-Semites are then in government responsibility and may possibly reduce protection for the Jewish community." Kopelke added: “How you want to form a coalition is a mystery to me.”

dpa/doli