Germany’s domestic spy chief gets a promotion

IT WAS supposed to be a face-saving measure to stop the coalition government collapsing. Instead there is outrage. Hans-Georg Maassen (pictured) was removed from his role as Germany’s head of domestic intelligence this week over allegations that he had downplayed right-wing extremist violence. But rather than being sacked, he has been given a pay rise and a promotion.

Mr Maassen sparked a national row when he called into question a video showing foreign-looking people being chased by a mob after the killing of a German man, allegedly by asylum-seekers, in the eastern German city of Chemnitz. The spy chief suggested the video might be fake, hinting at media manipulation to distract from the Chemnitz killing. He said there was no information about xenophobic assaults, despite reliable eyewitness reports and police investigations into such cases.

This was an affront to his boss, Angela Merkel, the chancellor, who had condemned the anti-migrant violence in Chemnitz and whose refugee policy he openly disagrees with. Mrs Merkel’s Social Democratic coalition partners, the SPD, called for him to be sacked. Her conservative interior minister, Horst Seehofer, immediately sided with Mr Maassen, setting the scene for yet another coalition crisis in Berlin. Neither side could back down, fearing a backlash from their supporters. But sticking to their guns risked bringing down the government. Finding Mr Maassen another job was the way out.

Everyone has been damaged. Mrs Merkel has lost authority. Mr Seehofer’s ally has been pushed out, implying a degree of guilt. But the SPD has been hit hardest. Party members believe their leaders are sacrificing left-wing values in another coalition with Mrs Merkel’s conservative bloc to cling on to power.

This is not the first time that Mr Maassen has been accused of overstepping his brief. He is accused of close links with the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party, including allegedly advising them on how to avoid surveillance. But the row is about more than just Mr Maassen. He is a symbol for the split running through Germany, and its government, over migration. Another coalition crisis may have been averted, but that division has not gone away.