Angela Merkel removes spy chief to defuse row over far-right

Angela Merkels government on Tuesday removed domestic spy chief HansGeorg Maassen from office transferring him to a different post to defuse an explosive row over immigration and the far right that once more rocked the German chancellors fragile coalition Mr Maassen will become state secretary in the interior ministry Merkel and the leaders of her coalition parties announced in a statement after crisis talksThe facesaving compromise lets Merkels fourthterm government live to see another day after her Social Democratic coalition partners had insisted on Maassens departure as head of the BfV intelligence service against the wishes of Interior Minister Horst Seehofer from her Bavarian CSU sister partyMaassen 55 was at the centre of a heated controversy after he raised doubts about the veracity of reports of farright hooligans and neoNazis randomly attacking immigrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz in late AugustIn his senior new role essentially a promotion Maassen will not be responsible for supervising the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution BfV the party leaders stressed in their statement The farright attacks in Chemnitz which caused revulsion in Germany were triggered by the fatal stabbing of a German man over which police are holding a Syrian suspect and searching for an Iraqi manA court freed another initial Iraqi suspect on Tuesday Days after the unrest Maassen questioned the authenticity of amateur video footage showing street violence and voiced doubt that racists had indeed hunted down foreigners comments that directly contradicted Merkel who had deplored the xenophobic attacks and hatred in the streetsSPD leaders as well as the opposition Greens Free Democrats and Linke parties had demanded the resignation or sacking of the spy chief for political meddling and pointed to his repeated meetings with leaders of the antiimmigration Alternative for Germany AfD party Whatever Maassens true political leanings the issue has turned him into a martyr of Merkel haters and the far rightThe AfDs Alice Weidel wrote on Facebook that anyone who criticises Merkels illegal immigration policy is mercilessly put through the wringer by the mainstream parties Maassen has rejected accusations that he has supported AfD lawmakers with early access to unpublished data and advice on how to avoid surveillance by his office Social Democrat leader Andrea Nahles had charged that Maassen had provided material for rightwing conspiracy theoristsHowever Maassen had the backing of his immediate boss the CSUs hardline Interior Minister Seehofer who has for three years been Merkels nemesis within the ruling grand coalition Seehofer a harsh critic of Merkels 2015 decision to allow a mass influx of migrants and refugees had in July brought the government to the brink of collapse with his threat to shutter national borders to asylum seekersWith that bitter dispute barely papered over the conflict over Maassens fate once more highlighted the deep chasms within Merkels coalition On one level both major parties the CDU and SPD are distrustful partners stuck in a political marriage of convenience after the AfD a onetime fringe party poached millions of their voters in last years electionsBut the rift is deepest between Merkel and Seehofer whose own political future hangs in the balance as his CSU braces for potentially massive losses to the AfD in Bavarian state elections next month Seehofer recently labelled the migration issue the mother of all problems in German politics a comment read by many as a veiled reference to Merkels nickname Mutti or MummyCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever