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CRIME

Merkel’s guards revealed as ex-Stasi

Two policemen assigned to guard Chancellor Angela Merkel’s weekend house in the Uckermark region of Brandenburg used to be in the East German secret police, known as the Stasi, it was revealed Friday.

Merkel’s guards revealed as ex-Stasi
Photo: DPA

The latest ARD’s magazine show “Monitor,” to be aired Friday evening, reveals that one of the two men spent ten years in the Stasi, working in the department that listened in on phone calls between East and West Germany.

According to the programme, many former Stasi officers have found work in the Brandenburg State Office of Criminal Investigation. The Brandenburg Interior Ministry has confirmed 58 cases, 9 of whom work in the state security department. Some have risen to higher ranks.

The news has prompted outraged reactions from various authorities. Stasi historian Roger Engelmann told ARD, “I can hardly believe it. I thought they had all been filtered out.” Rainer Wendt, head of the police union, spoke of a “complete failure of the government.”

“The State Office of Criminal Investigation is of vital importance to the whole country’s state security. There are many points of intersection with our spies and anti-terrorist operations. We need to have absolutely no doubt of the state loyalty of the people who work in these departments,” Wendt said.

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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