What is it about?
There is a dispute in the German Parliament (Bundestag). A politician from the SPD (Dirk Wiese) has made a very serious accusation against the AfD. He says: The AfD uses its work in parliament to spy on Germany and betray secrets to other countries.
🇬🇧 Quick Info
The AfD is a far-right party in Germany. Other parties often accuse them of being too friendly with Russia and China.
What happened?
Every party in the Bundestag is allowed to ask the government questions. This is called a "Small Question" (Kleine Anfrage). The government must answer them. This is important for democracy.
But: The AfD often asks very precise questions about topics that could be secret. For example:
- Where exactly do important power lines run?
- How is the German army (Bundeswehr) equipped?
- How are government buildings protected?
The SPD believes: The AfD doesn't want to know this to check on the government. They believe the AfD passes this info to countries like Russia or China, who want to harm Germany.
What does that mean?
If that is true, it would be treason. The AfD naturally says: "That is nonsense! We are just doing our job." There is no public proof yet. But the government has become cautious and answers some of the AfD's questions only very briefly or no longer publicly.
🐿️ Squirrel Fact
The suspicion doesn't come from nowhere: In recent months, there have been real scandals. An employee of an AfD politician was even arrested because he is suspected of spying for China.