Lisa Pöttinger, climate activist and assembly leader of the Munich demonstration “Together against the right” this Sunday, has been sharply criticized for a comment on the cancellation by Bavaria’s Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) against the protest.
Pöttinger had posted on “X” in response to Aiwanger’s cancellation: “Aiwanger is not coming to the demo #TogetherAgainstTheRight on Sunday – is there a better advertisement? But what do CSU politicians want on the spot? As the assembly leader, I can say that I have no desire for any kind of right-wingers!”
“Cheeky impertinence”
Bavaria’s Commissioner against Antisemitism Ludwig Spaenle (CSU) has described Pöttinger’s comment as “cheeky impertinence” in response to a request from FOCUS online. “I was really determined to participate in the initiative, which I consider to be good. But I was totally appalled by Pöttinger’s comment. She apparently has no idea what kind of damage she can cause with this political impertinence by putting the democratic spectrum in the right-wing corner,” Spaenle continued.
Earlier, the CSU politician had already referred to Pöttinger’s move on “X” as “mindless, arrogant, and damaging to democracy”. “Who is Mrs. Pöttinger, who takes it upon herself to disqualify members of the Union? As Commissioner against Antisemitism and CSU member, I object to such unqualified, fundamentally undemocratic impertinence that only encourages the gravediggers of democracy.”
Aiwanger saw protests as “frequently infiltrated by left-wing extremists”
Free Voters’ leader Aiwanger had previously justified his rejection of the protest against the right on “X” by claiming that in Munich, “among others, the Young Left, Young Greens, and Jusos, (…) who want the abolition of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and are mentioned in the annual reports of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution,” had called for it.
“The protests against the right are frequently infiltrated by left-wing extremists,” said Aiwanger. However, according to the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Aiwanger’s statements are incorrect regarding the fact that the Young Greens and Jusos were or are objects of observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the “Augsburger Allgemeine” cites the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. However, the situation is different for the Young Left: It is being observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Aiwanger: “Leftists want to wear down the bourgeois center”
“The bourgeois center is labeled as ‘right’ by the leftists, but should obediently participate in ‘protests against the right’ in order not to cause any annoyance. The goal is to wear down the bourgeois center,” Aiwanger explained on Sunday afternoon in response to FOCUS online’s inquiry.
