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State Minister of the Interior Holger Stahlknecht: "I am deeply affected and shocked that my statements have obviously caused a misunderstanding."
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
Friday marks the anniversary of the attack on the synagogue in Halle, and the state government in Saxony-Anhalt actually wanted to set an example on Wednesday on this occasion: In the cabinet meeting that was specially moved from Magdeburg to Halle, the "State Program Antisemitism" adopted.
A new reporting office is to be established, the protection of synagogues is to be improved, and prevention programs to be strengthened.
But now the advance is being overshadowed by the vortex surrounding Saxony-Anhalt's Interior Minister Holger Stahlknecht (CDU).
As reported by the "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung", Stahlknecht had calculated during a visit to the police station in Dessau how many additional working hours would be required to protect the synagogue.
"Those 1500 hours are missing elsewhere," he said.
The police cannot be on time for every request.
"Inadmissible and dangerous"
Stahlknecht's statements cause outrage.
The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, accused the CDU politician of suggesting that Jews were to blame if the police could no longer adequately take care of the rest of the population.
"A state interior minister is not afraid to portray Jews as privileged and play them off against other sections of the population," Schuster told the editorial network in Germany.
"This is how he promotes anti-Semitism. That is an indictment."
He indirectly demanded the resignation of the minister: "The question arises whether Holger Stahlknecht is still suitable for the office of interior minister."
The board of the state association of Jewish communities in Saxony-Anhalt called the statements in a message "inadmissible" and "dangerous".
One is "deeply saddened".
Stahlknecht reacted tightly to the allegations.
"I am deeply affected and shocked that my statements have obviously caused a misunderstanding," said a statement.
"My goal was and is to make it clear that the increased police presence to protect the Jewish institutions is non-negotiable for me and has top priority in my actions."
The CDU politician could not get rid of the matter with it - probably also because it is not his first misstep.
For a year now, the interior minister has been moving purposefully from one fat bowl to the next, be it the scandal over the alleged ex-neo-Nazi and CSU local politician Robert Möritz or the failed appointment of the controversial police unionist Rainer Wendt as state secretary.
Originally, Stahlknecht was supposed to take over the top candidacy for the next state election, but very few in the party believed that he would.
He only barely survived two internal votes of confidence.
Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff will now run again for the election next year.
Whether he will hand it over to Stahlknecht in the course of the legislative period has not yet been decided - it is becoming less likely.
Just last week, when he visited the Jewish community in Halle, Haseloff got himself into trouble with a statement that could easily be misunderstood.
But the Prime Minister apologized very clearly afterwards.
In the opposition, Stahlknecht in particular is seen as a problem case.
"The big program presented consists of lip service and things that are already being done. The state government is delaying the issue of what is a scandal for Saxony-Anhalt," said the domestic political spokeswoman for the left in the state parliament, Henriette Quade.
"Holger Stahlknecht should resign. He lacks the political compass."
"Malicious overinterpretation"
But there is also resentment in the Kenya coalition itself.
Stahlknecht had pointed out during his visit to Dessau that he wanted additional positions for property protection, but could not assert himself.
In fact, the coalition was considering creating 75 new positions with specialists specifically for property protection.
The application for the draft budget has been submitted to SPIEGEL.
As reported unanimously from coalition circles, this job creation failed due to the resistance of the CDU parliamentary group.
"We have the problem of finding good new police officers. That is why we primarily look at the trained police officers, we rely on our capacities," said Detlef Gürth, Member of the CDU, defending the process.
He calls Schuster's criticism of Stahlknecht a "malicious" overinterpretation.
"The guarding and securing of objects is a matter of course. Stahlknecht has uttered a truth that was not about prioritization."
Green country chief Sebastian Striegel considers Stahlknecht's statement to be wrong.
"The state must ensure the protection of all threatened people, regardless of whether Jewish communities or an interior minister are to be protected," said Striegel.
The spokesman for the migration group of the SPD Saxony-Anhalt, Igor Matviyets, called for Stahlknecht's resignation.
The internal political spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Rüdiger Erben, demands clarifying words from Stahlknecht: "The minister must correct this. His brief statement is not enough."
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Prime Minister Haseloff and Interior Minister Stahlknecht after the cabinet meeting in Halle
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
In federal politics, too, many people shake their heads at the matter.
"It is a truism that the police cannot clone themselves either. This applies to every football game that also ties up considerable forces. However, enforcing a basic right, in this case freedom of religion, is the core task of the security authorities," said the SPD's religious commissioner -Bundestag faction, Lars Castellucci, the SPIEGEL.
"The statement by Mr. Stahlknecht is therefore completely wrong."
FDP interior expert Konstantin Kuhle said: "An interior minister who does not take the concerns of Jewish communities seriously in the face of massive anti-Semitic crimes should reconsider his political compass and his priorities."
The anti-Semitism expert Jenny Havemann criticized: "If Holger Stahlknecht blames the Jews for the fact that their protection would bind too much police and therefore a lack of police forces elsewhere, then he differentiates between Jews and Germans and also has a clear ranking of importance."
It is like this: Jews must be protected from other Germans.
"These Germans are the perpetrators of police work, not the Jews," said Havemann.
"That is why the protection of Jewish institutions is a task for society as a whole! What cannot be said so clearly about the protection of a football derby."
Stahlknecht had signed the new state contract with the Jewish communities on Tuesday.
By the end of next year there should be 2.4 million euros for more security for the Jewish communities.
He spoke of a "really good day for Jewish life and togetherness in Saxony-Anhalt".
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