According to the Chancellor, “everything must be clarified comprehensively and immediately,” said Deputy Government Spokesman Wolfgang Büchner on Monday in Berlin. There would have to be “political consequences if necessary”.
The Greens co-group leader in the Bavarian state parliament, Ludwig Hartmann, called for Aiwanger’s resignation as deputy prime minister. As such, he was “no longer acceptable,” Hartmann told the “Welt”. He himself would “not accept a deputy as prime minister who had such leaflets with him”.
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported on the allegations at the weekend. Accordingly, Aiwanger is suspected of having written an anti-Semitic leaflet as a student and having placed copies at his school. It is said to have been found in his satchel in the 1987/88 school year. Aiwanger assured that he “did not write the paper and considers the content disgusting and inhuman”. Aiwanger’s brother claimed to be the author.
Helmut Aiwanger explained to the Bayern media group how the paper could have gotten into the school bag of today’s Free Voter boss. “I’m not quite sure anymore, but I think that Hubert collected them again to de-escalate,” he said and at the same time criticized the reporting as a “smear campaign”.
Bavaria’s State Chancellery Minister Herrmann explained that many questions remained unanswered. “The allegations are too serious for a deputy prime minister to only comment in writing and leave crucial questions unanswered.” Aiwanger had to “declare himself personally and comprehensively beyond the written statement”.
The Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) also told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” on Monday: “There is still a need for clarification.” SPD state chairman Florian von Brunn said: “Our state and Bavaria as a business location must no longer be associated with this inhuman leaflet.”
Politicians from federal politics also commented on the affair. The deputy head of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Jens Spahn (CDU), said in the program “Frühstart” on the RTL and ntv channels that there were questions for Aiwanger. He must answer this. After the facts have been clarified, they can be assessed – “and not always condemned straight away and then see what happened at all”.
The head chef of the Left Party, Janina Wissler, said in Berlin that her party considered Aiwanger to be unacceptable as a minister. “Söder should draw consequences quickly.” The Green co-chairman Ricarda Lang demanded on the television station Welt that Söder had to speak out. It is also about the responsibility to avert damage to trust in democracy in Bavaria.
The association of Jewish students in Bavaria announced that Aiwanger had to clarify the “serious allegations comprehensively and transparently”. The previous behavior remains “hidden behind a wall of opacity and memory gaps”.
The accusations hit Aiwanger in the middle of the election campaign. In Bavaria, a new state parliament will be elected in six weeks on October 8th. Söder’s CSU is currently governing there together with the Free Voters in a coalition of two. The coalition committee is to meet first on Tuesday morning. A meeting of the state cabinet and a press conference are to follow.
