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CDU politician Sütterlin-Waack
Photo: Reiner Zensen / imago images
The Interior Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, can imagine a study on racist and right-wing extremist tendencies in the police.
"As early as the summer I showed myself to be open to a nationwide study on the subject of racism," said the CDU politician to SPIEGEL.
"I would also support a scientific study on possible right-wing extremist tendencies in the police."
Sütterlin-Waack contradicts Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer of the CSU, who rejects such a study despite the latest investigations against police officers because of right-wing extremist activities in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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Federal Interior Minister Seehofer from the CSU
Photo: Fabrizio Bensch / AFP
"Our state police in Schleswig-Holstein pursues a zero-tolerance line in the event of xenophobic, racist or right-wing extremist incidents," said Sütterlin-Waack.
The education and training in the country is based "on the image of a cosmopolitan citizen police and counteracts right-wing extremist tendencies".
The country's central training institution has also been a member of "School without Racism - School with Courage" since the beginning of 2020 and has a partnership with Yad Vashem.
Brandenburg's CDU interior minister Michael Stübgen, on the other hand, shares Seehofer's skepticism.
"I'm not a big fan of studies," he told SPIEGEL.
"What we need are actions."
That is why Brandenburg decided on a plan of measures against right-wing extremism in June and is now implementing it.
"If someone from outside would sit down instead and write down a study for six months, we would end up with a piece of paper, but still no results," said Stübgen.
In the federal government, the question of a study on racism has been causing a dispute among the police for months.
The SPD has campaigned for such plans on several occasions, and Social Democratic Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht once again urged her cabinet colleague Seehofer to rethink.
The chairman of the conference of interior ministers, the Thuringian SPD politician Georg Maier, is now holding out the prospect of a study by the social democratic federal states on racism among police officers.
The SPD interior ministers are in agreement that they want a study on the allegation of racism in the police - and "alone if necessary," he told the editorial network Germany.
Reul fears falling respect for the police
Meanwhile, North Rhine-Westphalia's CDU interior minister Herbert Reul fears a decline in respect for emergency services in view of the new allegations against police officers in his country.
"Unfortunately there will be people who use this case as an excuse to behave indecently towards police officers," Reul told SPIEGEL.
It is therefore "more difficult" for officials in dangerous situations.
On the other hand, some police officers would be "afraid of being portrayed as radical right-wing chaots" in the future.
30 police officers are suspected of having sent and received right-wing extremist propaganda in private chat groups for years.
Almost all of them were or are part of a service group of the guard in Mülheim an der Ruhr, which belongs to the Essen Police Headquarters.
"I was considering whether we should ban private cell phones from being used," said Reul.
However, that would also affect those police officers who do an impeccable job.
He is therefore "skeptical".
The CDU politician would like to address the issue of right-wing extremism in the police at the conference of interior ministers.
"I want to talk to my colleagues in the country about the attitude of the police," said Reul.
"It is time that the federal states looked for common solutions."
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With material from AFP
