German State TV station ARD was facing criticism in Conservative circles after allowing protesters to drown out an open-air interview with Alice Weidel, leader of the opposition Alternative for Germany party (AfD).
One commentator even alleged that ARD leaked the time and place of the recording to left-wing activists.
On 20 July, ARD invited Weidel for a 30-minute interview on an open-air terrace by a canal in Berlin’s government district. The event was part of a series of “summer interviews” with the leaders of Germany’s biggest political parties.
The recording, though, was marred from the start by whistles and shouts from a group of around 50 anti-AfD protesters who had gathered across the canal.
Later, the protesters started playing loud music which made it impossible for viewers to hear Weidel. She even had visible trouble understanding host Markus Preiß, saying: “It’s extremely loud in the background and I can barely hear your questions.”
The protest had not been registered with the authorities and was eventually dissolved by the Berlin police – after the interview had already ended.
The activists included allegedly government-subsidised NGOs Zentrum für Politische Schönheit (Centre for Political Beauty) and Omas gegen Rechts (Grandmas against the Right). They shouted slogans including “Out with Nazis” and “F*** AfD”.
ARD’s failure to avoid or at least mute the disruptions has sparked ire on the Right. Markus Frohnmeier, AfD’s deputy fraction leader in the German Bundestag, said the broadcaster should have moved the interview to a disruption-free studio. He added: “I expect that the interview will be repeated under fair conditions.”
His colleague Bernd Baumann added: “Left-wing NGOs, the State and the media have once again acted against the largest opposition in a manner that is contemptuous of democracy – and millions of voters will draw their conclusions from this.”
Indeed, a new survey pollster Insa shows that one in three Germans would either vote AfD already or might vote for the right-wingers in the future.
Weidel herself also criticised the protests, saying: “It is not good for the culture of debate in our country to attack the freedom of the press and freedom of information in this way. I have no sympathy for this. The AfD and I will not be intimidated by such anti-democratic actions.”
Independent journalist Boris Reitschuster accused ARD employees of deliberately leaking the time and place for Weidel’s interview beforehand to allow “left-wing extremists to stage a riot for the media”.
An ARD speaker said the broadcaster would “draw conclusions from the show and take precautions for the future”.
ARD is one of the cornerstones of Germany’s gargantuan public broadcasting sector which collects about €9 billion in mandatory fees from Germans annually – about €110 per inhabitant.
