German Interior Ministers are scheduled for an unscheduled, special session at the Federal Ministry of the Interior on October 5th. Officially, the gathering on Monday is slated to discuss drone defense and new powers, but according to the newspaper “Welt am Sonntag,” the meeting holds a more clandestine significance: it revolves around the potentially imminent AfD-led government in Saxony-Anhalt and controlling access to the state’s security agencies.
A spokesperson for the Hamburg Interior Authority, which currently chairs the region’s most crucial security policy meeting, confirmed the date to the newspaper, stating that the ministers would convene for a “working meeting.”
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) is a regular participant in these ministerial rounds. During these private, informal talks-referred to as “Kamingespräche,” which exclude staff and official minutes-interior ministers plan to strategize on further options for protecting sources and maintaining secrets. Put simply, the discussion centers on restricting the flow of information from Saxony-Anhalt should the AfD succeed in placing its candidate in the state government and Interior Minister posts. This scenario has been a subject of intense, controversial debate within security circles for several months now.
The prospect of an AfD government in Saxony-Anhalt has caused considerable alarm among security services, particularly given that AFPD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund aims to run for Minister-President in December. It is expected that the interior ministers will reach an accord ensuring that only intelligence absolutely necessary for the state is passed on to Magdeburg in the future.
