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TEHRAN, November 05 -German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer faced renewed calls on Monday to dismiss the outgoing head of domestic intelligence from a new advisory role, threatening to re-open a rift which Angela Merkel’s fractious coalition had only just patched up.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer faced renewed calls on Monday to dismiss the outgoing head of domestic intelligence from a new advisory role, threatening to re-open a rift which Angela Merkel’s fractious coalition had only just patched up.
Seehofer once before rescued chief spy Hans-Georg Maassen from dismissal when his remarks about violence against migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz drew accusations that he held anti-immigration views. This time, Maassen is alleged to have made disparaging remarks about a governing party.
The recriminations follow bruising setbacks for all three parties in Merkel’s coalition in crucial regional votes over the past month. The poor results prompted Merkel to resign as head of the Christian Demcorats (CDU) and many are calling for the loveless alliance to end.
Seehofer is also facing calls to quit as head of his Christian Social Union (CSU) after it lost its majority in last month’s Bavarian regional election, as well as renewed pressure over Maassen.
In September, Maassen, charged with monitoring extremist threats to Germany’s constitutional order, used an interview in Germany’s top-selling tabloid Bild to question the authenticity of a video showing rightwing extremists hounding immigrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz.
He faced a storm of criticism, especially from within the Social Democrats (SPD), junior partner to Merkel’s conservatives, many of whom accused him of harboring right-wing populist sympathies.
Source: Reuters
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