Accusations of racism against Berlin left-wing politician Manuela Schmidt

Shortly before the elections for the House of Representatives, the Berlin Left is threatened with a racism scandal. The parliamentary group vice-president Manuela Schmidt is said to have insulted a man from Thuringia with African-American roots as a “shitty rabble” and a “dirty foreigner”. Police and state security investigated the case because of allegations of hate crime, as the “Tagesspiegel” reports. Schmidt himself rejects the allegations. Also the “B.Z.” reports on the case.

The incident is said to have occurred on June 5, 2025 in Märkische Allee in Berlin-Marzahn, both media reports agree. According to the complainant, who wishes to remain anonymous, he observed Schmidt touching another vehicle while parking, he tells the “Tagesspiegel”. The man asked the driver about it because the car in question belonged to his neighbor. There was an argument.

The man, who claims not to have known who the driver was, accuses the politician of calling him, among other things, “shitty kanake”. Schmidt is also said to have asked what a “dirty foreigner” wanted from her if the car didn’t belong to him. She is said to have further said: “I pay for your living expenses with my taxes.” According to the “B.Z.” should the sentence “Fuck off, you fucking kanake!” have fallen.

Another witness confirmed these descriptions to the police, reports the “Tagesspiegel”. According to the report, it was a worker at a nearby construction site.

According to the public prosecutor's office, no investigation was initiated against the politician. The reason for this is a lack of criminal charges. The person making the complaint told the “Tagesspiegel” that he was unable to submit the application in time because the necessary form had not been sent to him despite asking. Accordingly, he contacted the police in August 2025 and was referred to the State Criminal Police Office. There he was promised that the form would be sent. However, nothing happened.

When he asked again in mid-September, the three-month period had already expired. “In the context of the insult, a timely criminal complaint is the legal requirement for the investigation to begin,” the public prosecutor’s office told the “B.Z.” quoted.

The public prosecutor's office also stated: "Whether the reported incident actually happened was therefore not the subject of the examination here." In other words: It is not known whether the incident took place like this.

In addition, the proceedings were discontinued due to suspicion of an accidental escape. The reasons given are minor damage and a lack of information from the vehicle owner about the amount of damage. The case was handled by LKA Department 53, which is responsible for politically motivated crimes. Internally, the case was classified as a hate crime, reports the “Tagesspiegel”.

Left-wing politician Schmidt rejects the man's accusations. According to “B.Z.”, she released a statement via a spokesman. explain: “I note that there was neither an accident, therefore no unauthorized removal from the scene of the accident, nor was there a racist insult.”

The politician has been a member of the Berlin House of Representatives since 2011 and was Vice President of Parliament for five years. In addition, according to the “B.Z.” regularly against “racism and all forms of discrimination”.