Overview
- Thuringia’s interior minister Georg Maier alleged the AfD is working through a “Kremlin task list” by filing detailed inquiries that could map sensitive systems.
- Maier cited 47 inquiries in Thuringia over the past year focused on transport, water, digital and energy networks, as well as police IT such as drone detection.
- AfD leaders rejected the accusations, with Björn Höcke demanding Maier’s removal and weighing a complaint, while Bernd Baumann defended the inquiries as legitimate oversight.
- Senior Bundestag intelligence overseers Konstantin von Notz and Marc Henrichmann voiced security concerns and pointed to hybrid threats and possible foreign influence.
- A federal government spokesperson said Berlin has taken note of the reports but has no independent findings, as other Thuringian parties warned of chain requests that strain the administration.