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Former AfD activist to face legal action over exposé book

According to a Spiegel report, prominent figures close the far-right AfD are set to take legal action against former party activist Franziska Schreiber, whose insider account of the AfD was published this week.

Published: 10 August 2018 17:03 CEST

Former AfD activist to face legal action over exposé book

Erika Steinbach (pictured) is set to take legal action against former AfD activist Franziska Schreiber. Photo: DPA

Former CDU MP Erika Steinbach and an ally of controversial Thuringian Björn Höcke are among those who are reported to be taking legal action against Schreiber, after her book “Inside AfD” was released on Monday.

Schreiber, 28, had been a leading figure in the party’s youth wing until she left the AfD just before last September’s parliamentary elections.

She presented her book on Monday, saying that “people can change”, and that she hoped to reach current AfD supporters.

Her book, published by the Europa Verlag, contained a number of dramatic allegations about the inner workings of the party, most notably that a member of Germany’s intelligence services had given advice to the party.

She claimed that Hans-Georg Maaßen, head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, had met with former AfD leader Frauke Petry and told her that the party could avoid observation by throwing out Höcke.

Steinbach and others, though, have taken issue with different accusations, Spiegel reported, and are taking legal action to prevent the sale of the book.

Right-wing publisher Götz Kubitschek, who is close to Höcke, has disputed a passage in which Schreiber claims that the two men studied speeches by Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in detail, in search of “the formula that had lead to success in the 1930’s”.

“Franziska Schreiber is one of those people who thinks that they can easily sling mud at me and Mr Höcke,” said Kubitschek, who is reported to have sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Europa Verlag. “She should have checked the mud first.”

Former CDU MP Erika Steinbach, who now leads the Desiderius-Erasmus-Stiftung, a foundation with links to the AfD, also declared that she is looking into legal action, due to Schreiber’s claim that she had donated to the AfD as early as 2013.

“This claim is a lie,” Steinbach told Spiegel.

Further claims in Schreiber’s book include the allegation that some in the AfD were hoping for a terror attack on German soil, in order to turn the public mood against immigration.

The AfD is a “very, very dangerous party”, she said on Monday, and predicted that they would only become more radical in the future.

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Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.