Russia and China are digging up information and hiring henchmen in Germany. “It’s ironic that the Germans haven’t understood this before,” says the researcher interviewed by .
BERLIN The spies are back in Berlin.
A couple of weeks ago, two German-Russians who worked for Russia were caught trying to sabotage the aid given to Ukraine. On Tuesday, three German citizens were arrested because they are believed to have leaked information about German military technology to China.
The leading candidate of the far-right party AfD and a member of the EU Parliament Maximilian Krah is, on the other hand, earlier was at fault Because of funding from Russia and China.
This week, police arrested Krah’s aide on suspicion of spying for China. The assistant is suspected of leaking discussions in the EU Parliament to the Chinese intelligence service and spying on Chinese opposition representatives in Germany.
The espionage, influence attempts and propaganda of authoritarian states are accelerating in Europe.
Why Germany?
Germany is the heavyweight of European economy and politics, and therefore it is at the focal point of interest of authoritarian states. This is the opinion of a well-known political researcher and commentator Albrecht von Lucke.
China and Russia strive to acquire sensitive information both from within the administration and from industrial circles.
Disinformation thrives on social media and companies regularly report malicious cyber attacks. The purpose is both to undermine German democracy, to influence public opinion and to acquire, for example, arms industry secrets.
– You could say that Germany is finally waking up to this. The country must understand that other countries, especially China and Russia, have been waging a hybrid war against Germany for a long time, says von Lucke.
The Germans did not understand the existence of the phenomenon for a long time. Until these days, they have imagined that they are living in a time after the breaking of the Iron Curtain.
So the country has been an easy target. You can influence others through Germany.
– Russian and Chinese agents have infiltrated the country, and some of them really want to undermine German democracy, von Lucke explains.
If you succeed in harming Germany, you will also undermine the unity of the whole of Europe. Von Lucke reminds us that Putin has always said that he is at war with the West.
– Of course, that also means Germany. The irony is that the Germans did not understand this aspect for a long time.
What are the consequences of disclosures?
The position of the far-right AfD party is especially difficult during the European elections, because its leading candidate Maximilian Krah was already accused of obtaining funds from Beijing and Moscow.
According to the researcher, the situation is fatal for the party for two reasons.
– First of all, the AfD has now proven to be a party that does not do politics on behalf of Germany. Its two most popular candidates for the European elections tend to make policies on behalf of dictatorships, namely China and Russia, says von Lucke.
Another problem for the AfD leadership is now, according to von Lucke, that the “illusion” the party has built on itself is collapsing.
– AfD has wanted to create an image for the voters that it is a real democratic party against the puppets of the United States, and that we currently only live in a pseudo-democracy. This illusion of the AfD as democrats is collapsing.
AfD leads the polls for the European elections. Krah is accused of accepting bribes directly from the Kremlin-controlled media.
Now in Germany the question is, for whom the AfD is doing politics.
– AfD’s problem for Germany as a whole has now been revealed. Voters ask whether the party is doing politics for Germany or for its own financial benefit and even for dictatorships, says von Lucke.
How will voters react?
Other parties in the German Bundestag have asked the AfD for an explanation of the sources of their funds. EU Parliament demanded on Thursday the political leadership of the EU and the member states to intervene in the situation “quickly and decisively” before the European elections.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he is very concerned about it.
AfD will not to remove suspected candidates from the lists of European elections.
– For the AfD, these spy and funding issues are irrelevant, because most of the party’s voters don’t really care about the issue of dictatorship or authoritarian ideas, says von Lucke.