‘Thought police' have arrived

Intelligence service bids to shape beliefs of German citizens

- EUGYPPIUS

THE German Interior Ministry continues to defend its controversial and widely criticised plans to restrict the speech, travel and economic activity of political dissidents.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BFV), the German domestic intelligence service and political police, have sacrificed substantial popular regard in the face of this campaign.

According to a poll published last month, a plurality of Germans believe that the BFV is being misused for political purposes. The sentiment is prominent across all parties, except the Greens, who believe that all is well with the Federal Republic.

The BFV chief, Thomas Haldenwang, has taken to the pages of the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper to defend the conduct of his office and his plans to shape the 'thought and speech patterns" of ordinary people through official repression.

The thing about "freedom of expression," Haldenwang said, is that 'it is not carte blanche for enemies of the constitution.'

Recently, public discourse has repeatedly featured headlines and articles calling the work of the BfV into question. There is talk of an 'opinion police', a 'language police' and even a 'government security service'.

Some claim the BFV discredits political opinions 'on command' as extremist as soon as they depart from social and political mainstream narratives, or when they embark upon criticism of government action or the work of the democratic parties.

One thing should be unmistakably clear: freedom of opinion prevails in Germany - and that is a good thing. Freedom of opinion is a fundamental element of our constitution and one of the greatest assets of our liberal democratic order. As such, it is also protected by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.