Hamburg’s Senator for the Interior
Vaccination opponents in Hamburg: “Victim narrative is very pronounced”
– In Hamburg, 11,500 anti-vaccination opponents and corona skeptics took to the streets. Photo: Markus Scholz / dpa © dpa-infocom GmbH
–
–
Thousands of vaccine opponents have been taking to the streets in Hamburg for weeks. Unlike in other federal states, the authorities do not see any control by right-wing extremists. Nevertheless, the Interior Senator is concerned.
–
Hamburg’s Senator for the Interior, Andy Grote, fears that those who oppose the vaccination will become radicalized. “There is a risk that the protest will radicalize itself,” said the SPD politician of the German press agency.
“The victim narrative is very strong. And the closer, for example, to compulsory vaccination, the more irreconcilable the tone and the greater the risk of radicalization. ” Extremists lived from conflicts and their escalation. “And we have acute conflicts at the moment. And we have many who have distanced themselves from the state and the democratic system. “
In Hamburg in the past few weeks, thousands of vaccination opponents and corona skeptics took to the streets on Saturdays – most recently, according to police, 11,500.
Intersections with extreme forces
“Unlike in other federal states, we have so far not seen any controlling or formative influence from right-wing extremists in Hamburg,” said Grote. Right-wing extremists are present at the protests. “At the moment that is a very manageable proportion.”
The radical part of the corona deniers and “lateral thinkers” scene is classified “as a suspected case of anti-constitutional efforts sui generis – that is, as a very special category of extremism,” said Grote. «We see an anti-democratic delegitimization of the state in a conspiracy ideological context. There are intersections with right-wing extremists, there are intersections with Reich citizens, but there is an independent core. “
–
