Freedom of speech: German Economics Minister Robert Habeck loses to journalist "Don Alphonso" in court
Munich - The journalist Rainer Meyer, known as Welt columnist “Don Alphonso”, has been acquitted by the Munich district court of insulting Economics Minister Robert Habeck. The Green politician himself filed the criminal complaint.
It was about a quote that the journalist had posted on Twitter in February 2023: “An economics minister whose external appearance would not attract negative attention in a crowd of train station alcoholics.” There was nothing else there, not even a name. Meyer wanted to test the effect of this sentence, as he explained in his current column.
"ein Wirtschaftsminister, der mit seiner äusseren Erscheinung in einer Ansammlung von Bahnhofsalkoholikern nicht negativ auffallen würde"
— Don Alphonso (@_donalphonso) February 17, 2023
The background was a colleague's planned article about poorly dressed people. Habeck was actually supposed to serve as a hook. Because there are numerous photos on his Instagram account where the politician is unshaven and in a “sloppy look” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) - including at train stations and with a bottle of beer. The colleague, as Meyer describes it, originally wanted to write: “The Minister of Economics would not stand out in a group of train station alcoholics.”
Positive reactions and an ad
According to “Don Alphonso”, he himself suggested “a clear defusing”: “You don’t have to get specific straight away and explicitly say something after someone.” The two journalists agreed that Meyer should use the sentence in quotation marks, so clearly as a quote tagged, tweet and then wait for the reactions.
And they came – the majority positive. Everyone guessed who it was about. But there was also an anonymous person who reported the columnist to the police. The reason was the newly created Section 188 of the Criminal Code “Insult, slander and slander directed against people in political life”. Meyer calls this “the equivalent of lese majeste” and a “rubber paragraph.” The police asked Habeck if he wanted to file a criminal complaint. And he agreed.
“Don Alphonso”: A literature chamber is enough
“Don Alphonso” then received a fine of 3,200 euros. In addition, he should bear the costs of the procedure. He lodged an objection and the trial took place in October 2023, which the journalist was unable to attend due to illness. Meyer lost and went on appeal. He won it the Monday before last.
The verdict is not yet legally binding. If that happens, the taxpayer will have to pay the legal fees and legal costs from two instances: “I don’t even want to talk about the CO₂ emissions that I caused by my rush to Munich for the climate minister’s criminal complaint at this point,” complains “Don Alphonso”.
Basically, the columnist comments on the process as follows: “I hate to say this, but if I am no longer allowed to make statements that could cause others to question the trust and integrity of servants of the people, there is no longer any need for journalism. Then a 'New Germany' or a literature chamber or the German association of traffic light [government coalition] panegyricists will suffice.”
Source: Junge Freiheit
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