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German prosecutors seek to lift AfD MP Alice Weidel’s immunity over suspicious donations probe

German prosecutors on Wednesday asked parliament to lift the immunity of a prominent far-right MP, Alice Weidel, as they step up enquiries into suspicious campaign donations made to the AfD party co-leader ahead of the last general election.

Published: 15 November 2018 08:02 CET

German prosecutors seek to lift AfD MP Alice Weidel's immunity over suspicious donations probe

Alice Weidel. Photo: DPA

The prosecutor's office of Lake Constance said it had made the request in a letter to Bundestag president Wolfgang Schäuble.

The move is necessary to allow prosecutors to open an official probe into the dubious payments, they said in a statement.

Weidel heads the Alternative for Germany's (AfD's) parliamentary group and has long been seen as a rising star in the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam party.

But she has come under increasing pressure since German media revealed last weekend that the AfD's Lake Constance branch received 18 donations from a Swiss pharmaceutical firm, PWS, between July and September 2017, totalling
some 150,000 Swiss francs (€130,000 euros).

Under German law, campaign donations from non-EU countries are illegal. Switzerland, though linked to the EU through numerous treaties, is not a member of the bloc.

The payments reportedly came with the message “campaign donation Alice Weidel”.

Lake Constance is the southern district where Weidel, who divides her time between Germany and Switzerland, where her partner and children live, ran for office in 2017 elections in which the AfD made huge gains.

She has insisted she has no information about the campaign donor and stressed that the money was later repaid.

Questions have also been raised over a sum of money received from Belgium in February this year. Weidel's district association's account had received €150,000 from the sender “Stichting Identiteit Europa” (European Identity Foundation).

The payment was examined by the party. “However, the AfD district association Bodenseekreis was unable to establish either the donor identity or the donor motivation, which is why it ultimately decided not to accept the money from 'Stichting Identiteit Europa',” the party explained in a press release.

For this reason the group did not report it to the Bundestag, the party said. “On 9th May 2018 the full amount was remitted to the sender,” they added.

Party donations from EU countries, like Belgium, are not illegal in principle, but donations of more than €50,000 must be reported to the Bundestag administration.

Condemnation

Politicians from other parties have strongly condemned her handling of the affair.

Lawmaker Britta Hasselmann from the opposition Greens has accused Weidel of “playing the public for fools” by claiming she was unaware that foreign donations were illegal.

MP Johannes Kars of the Social Democrats, Chancellor Angela Merkel's junior coalition partner, has said that if the money is confirmed to have violated spending laws then Weidel “should resign”.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine daily on Wednesday reported that Weidel spent some of the Swiss money on social media advertising and on a media lawyer tasked with launching proceedings against journalists.

The German journalists' federation DJV responded by calling on Weidel to step down.

“In the fight against critical journalists the AfD parliamentary leader will use any means, even apparently illegal party donations,” DJV head Frank Überall told the Handelsblatt newspaper.

The Swiss company behind the donations told German media it was acting on behalf of “a business friend” but declined to identify the person.

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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.