Overview

• In a statement to taz, Philipp Amthor confirmed that his longtime office head, Sandro M., has resigned from the Burschenschaft Markomannia Aachen in Greifswald.
• taz first reported the membership, and subsequent coverage noted that the aide is a CDU member with a local party role in Vorpommern-Greifswald.
• Reporting documents Markomannia’s connections to AfD figures and a 2019 talk by Austrian extremist Martin Sellner, alongside nationalist rhetoric in the group’s materials.
• Amthor defended his employee’s private life but called the exit necessary, framing it as a reaffirmation of democratic values and a distancing from actors who normalize extremists.
• Left leader Hennis Herbst urged Amthor to dismiss the aide and resign as digital state secretary over security concerns, while Green MP Karoline Otte also criticized the staffing choice.