The way how the Bavarian deputy governor and economic secretary Hubert Aiwanger managed his PR incident is less than abysmal, however he should have seen it coming when he delivered a [speech at a demonstration in June](https://www.merkur.de/politik/antrag-aiwanger-gruene-demo-rede-csu-freie-waehler-afd-soeder-landtag-entlassung-zr-92340778.html). Yet, he decided to keep his controversial relationship with far-right ideologies hidden. Until it exploded last week.
I believe that if a person in that position is not able to manage such an issue, going all the way to having his brother take the blame for it, there is a very high chance that the story is very close to the truth.
[Reaktionen auf Flugblatt: Söder lässt Aiwanger vorerst im Amt – und fordert Antworten – Bayern – SZ.de (sueddeutsche.de)](https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/aiwanger-flugblatt-soeder-csu-freie-waehler-1.6174113)
Governor Soeder’s reaction has so far been firm as it should be, however I am quite worried that at the end he won’t dismiss him – or force him to quit – for some merely political reason.
To me, the CSU would cross a line by keeping Aiwanger at his place. It would mean that far-right ideologies would not just be somehow tolerated to work with them, but downright accepted.
And if this happens, it might be a point of no return.
by lukedeg
2 comments
>To me, the CSU would cross a line by keeping Aiwanger at his place. It would mean that far-right ideologies would not just be somehow tolerated to work with them, but downright accepted.
Well, they **are** the CSU.
I don’t like Aiwanger at all, but the case against him in this specific incident is far from proven.
Somebody managed to find an old flyer that appears to have been written on the same model of typewriter that Hubert Aiwanger once used to type up a school essay. This flyer was written by a schoolboy who was really angry with the school authorities and suggested that they have a chance to win a free execution in Dachau. Aiwanger’s brother has claimed that he was the one who typed it.
Aside from the fact that it doesn’t contain anything specifically antisemitic, it was written in 1988 when the Aiwanger brothers were, like most of us at that age, stupid. As much as I despise Aiwanger, I do not want to live in a society where something I *might possibly have written* 35 years ago when I was a stupid kid can be used against me and even get me fired from my job — and note that there hasn’t even been any kind of investigation, everything about this is purely circumstantial.
Hubert Aiwanger is almost exactly one year younger than me. In 1988 I was 18, and he was 17. Let me tell you that when I was 18 I held views and opinions that I would today find horrific. We all do and say stupid things, but we should be allowed to learn and change our opinions, and not be publicly pilloried for something we can barely remember doing, would never do again, and only did because we were at the time too dumb to know better.