The recent arson attack in Berlin has ignited a political firestorm, with Green Party parliamentarian Konstantin von Notz accusing Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) of systemic negligence regarding the protection of critical infrastructure. Von Notz, a deputy parliamentary group leader and member of the Parliamentary Control Committee, delivered a scathing critique, arguing that the vulnerabilities within Germany’s essential societal systems have been known for years and deliberately ignored by those in power.
“The fragility of our society’s lifelines has been evident for years. For far too long, those responsible, particularly within the Federal Interior Ministry, have culpably neglected these problems” von Notz stated in an interview with T-Online. He pointed to the German government’s continued failure to uniformly implement two crucial EU directives concerning the protection of critical infrastructure as a primary example of this inaction.
Despite repeated promises of overdue measures to safeguard the country’s democratic foundations from Dobrindt and Merz, tangible progress has been markedly lacking. Critics have long warned of the potential for devastating widespread power outages, a scenario that highlights the profound deficiencies in Germany’s resilience and preparedness.
Von Notz emphasized that the Berlin attack serves as a stark and unmistakable reminder of the urgent need to bolster societal resilience, especially in the context of ongoing threats from terrorism and potential acts of sabotage. He framed the protection of critical infrastructure not just as a security matter, but as a central pillar in combating hybrid threats, demanding a rapid and significant strengthening of both infrastructure protection and broader civil defense measures – areas he asserts have been historically underserved. The incident is now fueling calls for a complete reassessment of Germany’s security strategy and renewed political accountability for the prioritization of these vital defenses.
