05/26/2024 – 18:55
On the eve of the local election, CDU discovers at least 10 posters in the city of Leipzig with an altered slogan and a call for a “caliphate”. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), an acronym of former German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, filed a complaint this Sunday ( 26/05), after discovering at least 10 fake election posters with the party logo in Leipzig. Among other things, the fake posters called for a “caliphate.” They were all collected.
The incident takes place just two weeks before local elections on June 9, when Europeans will also go to the polls to choose new MEPs. According to local media reports, there were similar posters in Chemnitz and the region around Zwickau. The state security agency of Saxony, where Leipzig is located, will investigate the case.
CDU district leader Andreas Nowak confirmed the discovery of at least 10 fake posters since Saturday, but said “there are probably many more”.
“We are outraged,” said Nowak. “Our party is being brought closer to Islamic extremism”, he stated, highlighting that it was not a satire or a bad joke, but a “copyright infringement”.
Changed slogan
The typography and colors used in the fake posters are practically identical to the originals. On the falsified posters, the CDU slogan “Leipzig. Sicher. Machen” (Make Leipzig safe) was changed to “Leipzig. Unsicher. Machen” (Making Leipzig unsafe). Below the doctored slogan, an inscription with curved letters, reminiscent of Arabic spelling, says: “Mehr Kalifat wagen!” (Dare more caliphate).
Novak highlights that, a few weeks ago, the party had a new color scheme, which was reproduced on the fake posters, making it clear that someone “put great effort” into the forgery.
Germany is experiencing a turbulent political moment, with an increase in crimes involving politics and several cases of aggression against politicians from different political spheres.
According to recent statistics from the Federal Department of Investigations (BKA) and the Ministry of the Interior, in 2023 Germany had a record of more than 60 thousand crimes of a socio-political and/or religious nature – 1,100 more than in the previous year. The analysis confirms that it is common for both motivations to be interconnected.
le (DPA, ots)
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