Drunk staff members of AfD lawmakers got into a fight in one of the Bundestag buildings — Spiegel
In Berlin, two staff members of lawmakers from the far-right party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) got into a fight while intoxicated in one of the buildings where members of the Bundestag work.
The incident occurred late Wednesday evening, October 14, in the Jakob Kaiser Building, located near the Bundestag. Many members of the German parliament work in this building.
The lobby features an art installation consisting of four rowing boats suspended from wire cables. According to the publication, two staff members of the “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) parliamentary group got into a fight directly beneath these boats.
The altercation was so serious that the police had to be called. Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene and broke up the fight at 11:20 p.m. They determined that both participants were intoxicated and subsequently initiated the appropriate legal proceedings.
Several sources in the Bundestag confirmed the incident to the publication. At the same time, a spokesperson for the AfD parliamentary faction stated in response to a query from journalists that they knew nothing about the incident.
This is not the first scandal involving AfD lawmakers or their aides. Last year, the publication learned that Bundestag security guards had to undergo special training on how to respond when members of this party or their guests are intoxicated.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the Bundestag administration, citing security concerns, had denied permanent access passes to the parliamentary buildings to seven staff members of AfD lawmakers or the AfD parliamentary group. Among other incidents, attention was drawn to the party’s hiring of a man as a security coordinator. He had previously been convicted of a racist attack involving the use of a weapon against refugees.
Recently, Arno Bausemer, an AfD member of the European Parliament representing the state of Saxony-Anhalt, has also come under scrutiny. He attacked two 14-year-old teenagers with a baseball bat as they attempted to damage his party’s poster.
Bauzemer himself spoke publicly about the incident. According to him, he was already aware during the attack that both teenagers were only 14 years old. The state criminal police department reported that one of the victims required medical attention.
The incident was reported by *Spiegel*.
As a reminder, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Social Democrats (SPD), The Left, and the Greens began negotiations on October 12 to form a coalition government. Despite the victory of the far-right “Alternative for Germany” party in the September 20 regional elections, where it won 32 of 71 seats in the parliament, a potential three-party coalition majority of 39 seats would allow the AfD to be kept out of power.
In three state elections in Germany in September, the far-right “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) came in first in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the Left Party (Die Linke) won in Berlin.
