Overview
- Interior Minister Georg Maier says AfD lawmakers have misused parliamentary questions to map critical infrastructure in patterns he argues could serve Russian interests.
- He cites 47 AfD inquiries in Thuringia over the past year with growing detail, covering transport, water, digital networks and energy.
- Maier points to particular interest in police IT and equipment, including drone detection and countermeasures, as well as civil protection, healthcare and Bundeswehr activities.
- AfD parliamentary manager Bernd Baumann rejects the allegations as absurd and says the questions highlight government neglect, while Bundestag oversight chair Marc Henrichmann backs the security concerns about Russian influence seeking sensitive information.
- Several MPs, including SPD’s Carmen Wegge and the Greens’ Irene Mihalic, call for evidence-gathering to test prospects for an AfD-ban application; the party is classified in Thuringia as proven extremist, and any ban would require a case before the Federal Constitutional Court with no filing yet.