“Vaccination ban” scandal: Maaßen is stepping up - and refers to “vaccination damage” in one's own childhood

Created: 01/05/2022, 05:44 AM

From: Florian Naumann

New year, old problems: The CDU is again debating about excluding Hans-Georg Maaßen from the party.

He had previously shared an appeal for a "vaccination ban" online.

Update from January 4, 10:07 p.m.:

Hans-Georg Maaßen has apparently defended himself in a letter to CDU party friends against demands for his exclusion from the Christian Democrats. According to the portal

which has the letter, Maaßen defended his controversial vaccination tweet. He only shared the “video of a professor who is seriously concerned about the inoculation of the mRNA vaccines”. In doing so, he was exercising his “fundamental right to freedom of expression,” Maaßen continued.

“I can understand anyone who gets vaccinated and boosted.

But the state is obliged to take the concerns of the unvaccinated seriously, ”it said.

Maaßen claimed that his vaccination skepticism was based on bad childhood experiences: “I have already had two vaccine damage in my life.

The first case at the age of five.

Shortly after a vaccination, I had to go to the hospital and have an emergency operation.

The second time I was a year older. "

Previously, the failed direct candidate for the Bundestag had distributed a video by bestselling author Sucharit Bhakdi, in which he called for the corona vaccinations to be stopped.

CDU board member Karin Prien publishes hate letters

Update from January 4, 2:24 p.m.:

After the excitement about social media posts (

) CDU board member Karin Prien called for Hans-Georg Maaßen to be excluded from the party. According to her own statements, the politician has now felt the anger of supporters of the CDU far-right in an extremely unpleasant way: Prien shared insulting letters and threats to her address on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

Judging by the published screenshots, the “fan mail”, which Prien himself called it, contained sometimes drastic degradation - in addition to justifications for Maassen's demeanor, words and accusations such as “filthy woman”, “mental illness” or “shit in the brain” could be read. In one case, Prien was also apparently threatened with violence. “A few samples from the world of corona deniers, conspiracy theorists and oaths. And no, that is intolerable within the scope of the spectrum of opinion, ”wrote the politician.

Shortly before that, the parliamentary manager of the Union parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei, had rejected an exclusion from the party for Maaßen, with reference to a "high spectrum of opinions that could be tolerated" (

).

Prien actually has a lot to do in her office as minister these days: On Wednesday, as chairman of the conference of ministers of education, she will chair the corona school summit.

Maaßen suddenly faced party exclusion again - but the first CDU size slows down

Update from January 4, 11:40 a.m.:

By agreeing to an appeal for a "vaccination ban", Hans-Georg Maaßen has once again brought himself into criticism - CDU board member Karin Prien called for exclusion from the party on Monday and found some supporters (

). Now the first countermeasures from the Union parliamentary group follow: Parliamentary director Thorsten Frei (CDU) has spoken out in very flowery words against such a procedure against Maaßen.

Party exclusion proceedings are “rightly extremely difficult” in Germany, Frei told the broadcasters RTL and n-tv on Tuesday.

"Democratic parties must be able to withstand a wide range of opinions." That is why he does not want to "lead such discussions that only lead to the short grass," said Frei.

He called on Maaßen to now “not pour oil on the fire” and to act in a de-escalating way.

Currently, in view of the attacks on constituency offices of various politicians, the mood can "change very easily," said Frei.

"That's why I really advise you to be careful around the edge of the platform."

"Vaccination ban"?

Maaßen provokes CDU exclusion debate - "Can no longer tolerate this"

Initial report:

Kiel / Berlin - The CDU could employ explosive personnel in 2022: Karin Prien, member of the CDU federal executive board and candidate for a party vice position, expelled the long-controversial ex-constitution protection chief on Sunday evening (January 2) Hans-Georg Maaßen from the party called for.

“Ça suffit”, in German “that's enough”, she wrote on Twitter - along with the hashtags “# Maaßen” and “#Parteiausschlussjetzt”.

When asked by a commentator, Prien confirmed that she would “demand” the exclusion.

The history of internal party disputes is long;

Prien and Maassen had already clashed.

Maassen back in focus: CDU board member Prien wants to be excluded from the party

The impetus was now a post by the former CDU direct candidate on the “Gettr” platform, a social media channel popular with US conservatives, but also conspiracy theorists. There, on New Year's Eve, Maaßen had shared a post from the Corona measures critic Sucharit Bhakdi via an account verified by the portal, in which he called for a "vaccination ban". Maaßen wrote of a "moving appeal".

"If a former top official and constitutional protection officer spreads such conspiracy-theoretical nonsense and refers to the anti-Semite Bhakdi, then we as the CDU can no longer tolerate it," said Prien to the

.

Schleswig-Holstein's General Public Prosecutor's Office started investigations into allegations of incitement to hatred against Bhakdi in November.

The reason for this was statements by Bhakdi in an interview, which were also distributed on Twitter.

In it, he accused Israel of coercion to vaccinate, and he said that the current situation in the country was worse than in Germany at the time of National Socialism.

Corona “vaccination ban”?

Maassen outraged CDU people - first approval for exclusion demand

On Monday (January 3rd) there were already the first supporters of an exclusion, if not from the first row of party celebrities. “In its renewal, the CDU not only has to make it clear what it wants, but also what it no longer wants. #Maassen's expulsion from the party is long overdue, ”wrote the former General Secretary Ruprecht Polenz on Twitter. Maaßen was "not a conservative Christian Democrat, but a wandering conspiracy supporter," said the Saxon CDU press spokesman Paul Schäfer - apparently in his private role as a CDU member.

Maaßen, for his part, struck back against Prien.

"Ms. Prien should leave the CDU," he wrote on Twitter and Gettr.

"With its firmly established left-wing stance and its tendency to fight internal party opponents and enemies, it no longer represents the values ​​of the CDU Adenauers and Kohls."

Hans-Georg Maaßen: Already in the summer Zoff with Prien - CDU debate about realignment could pick up speed

Prien had already expressed doubts about Maassen's CDU membership and his direct candidacy for the Bundestag in Thuringia during the election campaign. She was wondering "what Mr. Maaßen is actually looking for in the CDU", she said in the ZDF talk "Markus Lanz". Prien indirectly recommended the election of the ultimately successful SPD constituency candidate Frank Ulrich. Maaßen then called for the politician to be kicked out of the future team of Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet - who did not answer the call, but repeatedly expressed himself rather evasively on the Maaßen case.

The dispute could now coincide with a struggle over the course of the CDU after the election debacle in September - an ex-CSU minister had already forecast long-term debates.

The Christian Democrats will soon elect the rather conservative Friedrich Merz as party leader.

Before and after the member's decision on the chairmanship, he had already carefully realigned himself, among other things with the demand for a hard "firewall" in the direction of the AfD.

However, the CDU does not have exclusive disputes over party affiliations in the German party landscape.

The Greens are negotiating an exclusion for the Mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer.

For a long time, the SPD had wrestled about how to deal with the former Berlin Senator for Finance, Thilo Sarrazin.

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