FILE-- In this Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018 photo Hans-Georg Maassen, center, head of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, waits for the beginning of a hearing at the home affairs committee of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany. The leaders of Germany's three governing parties are meeting in Berlin on Tuesday to decide the fate of the country's domestic intelligence chief amid calls for him to be fired over his approach to far-right extremism. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, file)

FILE-- In this Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018 photo Hans-Georg Maassen, center, head of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, waits for the beginning of a hearing at the home affairs committee of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany. The leaders of Germany's three governing parties are meeting in Berlin on Tuesday to decide the fate of the country's domestic intelligence chief amid calls for him to be fired over his approach to far-right extremism. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, file)

BERLIN (AP) — The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency lost his job Tuesday after his remarks downplaying anti-migrant violence became a battleground between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her conservative critics.

The ouster of Hans-Georg Maassen is the latest political aftershock resulting from the influx of more than a million refugees into Germany since 2015, which has boosted right-wing populism in Germany and beyond.

Critics have long questioned whether Maassen, who took charge of the BfV spy agency in 2012, was still suitable for the post over his handling of the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack and his contacts with the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Maassen’s decision to openly contradict Merkel in an interview with the mass-circulation daily Bild this month appears to have sealed his fate.

Responding to violent right-wing protests following the killing of a German man, allegedly by migrants, in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Maassen said his agency had no reliable evidence that foreigners were “hunted” down in the streets — a term Merkel had used.

He added that “according to my cautious evaluation, there are good reasons for thinking that it is deliberate misinformation, possibly in order to distract the public from the murder in Chemnitz.”

Maassen provided no evidence to back up his assertion, but his comments were seized upon by the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which called him “a very good top civil servant who had the courage to criticize Merkel’s completely failed asylum policy” and now faces a “witch hunt.”

Merkel’s coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats, accused Maassen of downplaying apparent anti-migrant violence and called for him to be fired .

For a senior civil servant to publicly wade into such a politically sensitive issue would normally have meant swift career death, but Maassen’s direct boss — Interior Minister Horst Seehofer — initially backed the spy chief.

Seehofer has regularly sparred with his conservative ally Merkel on migration since 2015, when he was one of the most prominent critics of her decision to keep open Germany’s borders as hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers trekked across the Balkans.

In a short statement following three-way talks Tuesday between Merkel, Seehofer and the head of the Social Democrats, the government said Maassen will be moved to a new job within the Interior Ministry and will be replaced at the spy agency.

Maassen may be out of the firing line for now, but the 55-year-old will likely remain influential behind the scenes within Germany’s security apparatus. The government statement noted that Seehofer “values his expertise in questions of public safety” and observers say the new job comes with a hefty pay rise.</s>BERLIN — German domestic intelligence chief loses job after spat with Chancellor Angela Merkel over anti-migrant violence.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Seehofer recently labelled the migration issue "the mother of all problems" in German politics -- a comment read by many as a veiled reference to Merkel's nickname "Mutti", or Mummy

Angela Merkel's government on Tuesday removed domestic spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen from office, transferring him to a different post to defuse an explosive row over immigration and the far right that once more rocked the German chancellor's fragile coalition. "Mr Maassen will become state secretary in the interior ministry," Merkel and the leaders of her coalition parties announced in a statement after crisis talks.

The face-saving compromise lets Merkel's fourth-term government live to see another day, after her Social Democratic coalition partners had insisted on Maassen's departure as head of the BfV intelligence service, against the wishes of Interior Minister Horst Seehofer from her Bavarian CSU sister party.

Maassen, 55, was at the centre of a heated controversy after he raised doubts about the veracity of reports of far-right hooligans and neo-Nazis randomly attacking immigrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz in late August.

In his senior new role, essentially a promotion, Maassen will not be responsible for supervising the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the party leaders stressed in their statement. The far-right attacks in Chemnitz, which caused revulsion in Germany, were triggered by the fatal stabbing of a German man over which police are holding a Syrian suspect and searching for an Iraqi man.

A court freed another initial Iraqi suspect on Tuesday. Days after the unrest, Maassen questioned the authenticity of amateur video footage showing street violence and voiced doubt that racists had indeed "hunted down" foreigners -- comments that directly contradicted Merkel, who had deplored the xenophobic attacks and "hatred in the streets".

SPD leaders -- as well as the opposition Greens, Free Democrats and Linke parties -- had demanded the resignation or sacking of the spy chief for political meddling, and pointed to his repeated meetings with leaders of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Whatever Maassen's true political leanings, the issue has turned him into a martyr of Merkel haters and the far right.

The AfD's Alice Weidel wrote on Facebook that "anyone who criticises Merkel's illegal immigration policy is mercilessly put through the wringer by the mainstream parties". Maassen has rejected accusations that he has supported AfD lawmakers with early access to unpublished data and advice on how to avoid surveillance by his office. Social Democrat leader Andrea Nahles had charged that Maassen had "provided material for right-wing conspiracy theorists".

However, Maassen had the backing of his immediate boss, the CSU's hardline Interior Minister Seehofer, who has for three years been Merkel's nemesis within the ruling grand coalition. Seehofer, a harsh critic of Merkel's 2015 decision to allow a mass influx of migrants and refugees, had in July brought the government to the brink of collapse with his threat to shutter national borders to asylum seekers.

With that bitter dispute barely papered over, the conflict over Maassen's fate once more highlighted the deep chasms within Merkel's coalition. On one level, both major parties, the CDU and SPD, are distrustful partners stuck in a political marriage of convenience after the AfD, a one-time fringe party, poached millions of their voters in last year's elections.

But the rift is deepest between Merkel and Seehofer, whose own political future hangs in the balance as his CSU braces for potentially massive losses to the AfD in Bavarian state elections next month. Seehofer recently labelled the migration issue "the mother of all problems" in German politics -- a comment read by many as a veiled reference to Merkel's nickname "Mutti", or Mummy.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever</s>The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is being replaced after clashing with Chancellor Angela Merkel over anti-migrant violence in the country.

The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is being replaced after clashing with Chancellor Angela Merkel over anti-migrant violence in the country.

Ms Merkel’s office released a short statement saying the head of Germany’s BfV spy agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, will be moved to a new position within the Interior Ministry.

The decision, which follows three-way talks between Ms Merkel and the heads of two other parties in her governing coalition, is a defeat for conservatives in her Union bloc.

The centre-left Social Democrats and some in Ms Merkel’s party had been calling for Mr Maassen to be fired for playing down recent far-right violence in the eastern city of Chemnitz.

Mr Maassen has also been criticised for alleged improper contacts with members of the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany, which he denies.</s>The German cabinet was set for a crunch meeting on Tuesday on the fate of the country’s domestic intelligence agency chief the day after the chancellor, Angela Merkel, reportedly decided he had waded too far into day-to-day politics with his controversial remarks on far-right violence.

The embattled head of the BfV agency, Hans-Georg Maaßen, has faced calls for his resignation after he questioned the authenticity of video footage showing far-right protesters chasing migrants in Chemnitz.

Die Welt, which cited government sources, said on Monday that Merkel viewed Maaßen’s position as untenable. It added her decision would stand regardless of the reaction of Maaßen’s direct superior, the interior minister, Horst Seehofer. The German government has declined to comment.

Maaßen came under fire after he contradicted Merkel’s description of a far-right protest in the eastern town. Merkel’s spokesman referred to the scenes as a Hetzjagd, or hounding of migrants. Maaßen, speaking to the Bild, said he had seen no evidence such events had taken place.

The Maaßen row has underscored the fault lines in Merkel’s ruling coalition. Merkel’s rebellious interior minister, who heads the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union (CSU), was quick to throw his weight behind Maaßen, while her junior partner, the left-wing Social Democrats (SPD), have repeatedly said he must go.

Last week, top politicians including Seehofer, and the Social Democrat leader, Andrea Nahles, failed to agree on the BfV chief’s future at a protracted meeting at Merkel’s office in Berlin. They were scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday. Media pundits have deemed Merkel’s failure to fire Maaßen as a sign of weakness.

According to Die Welt, Maaßen told a group of conservative politicians last Thursday that “Horst Seehofer told me that if I fall, he will then fall too.”

But the SPD and opposition parties have made demands for Maaßen to end his six-year stint at the top of BfV, or the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. “I can no longer trust him,” said Nahles, adding that protecting the constitution meant protecting democracy.

She criticised Maaßen’s comments as downplaying violent incidents in Chemnitz, which were reported and filmed by many witnesses. “Whoever makes himself an ally of rightwing conspiracy theories is out of place as the head of the office for constitutional protection.”

Maaßen’s doubts about the extent of racism and violence in Chemnitz chime with comments by the anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland party. Alexander Gauland has accused Merkel of spreading “fake news”.

Merkel and Seehofer have separately insisted that the coalition government would not crumble over the Maaßen issue.</s>Angela Merkel’s government on Tuesday removed domestic spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen from office, transferring him to a different post to defuse an explosive row over immigration and the far right that once more rocked the German chancellor’s fragile coalition.

“Mr Maassen will become state secretary in the interior ministry,” Merkel and the leaders of her coalition parties announced in a statement after crisis talks.

The face-saving compromise lets Merkel’s fourth-term government live to see another day, after her Social Democratic coalition partners had insisted on Maassen’s departure as head of the BfV intelligence service, against the wishes of Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who is from her Bavarian CSU sister party.

Maassen, 55, was at the centre of a controversy after he raised doubts about the veracity of reports of far-right hooligans and neo-Nazis randomly attacking immigrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz in late August.

In his senior new role, essentially a promotion, Maassen will not be responsible for supervising the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the party leaders said in their statement.

The far-right attacks in Chemnitz, which caused revulsion in Germany, were triggered by the fatal stabbing of a German man over which police are holding a Syrian suspect and searching for an Iraqi man. A court freed another initial Iraqi suspect on Tuesday.

Thousands attend anti-racism concert as Merkel urges Germans to speak out

Days after the unrest, Maassen questioned the authenticity of amateur video footage showing street violence and voiced doubt that racists had indeed “hunted down” foreigners – comments that directly contradicted Merkel, who had deplored the xenophobic attacks and “hatred in the streets”.

SPD leaders – as well as the opposition Greens, Free Democrats and Linke parties – had demanded the resignation or sacking of the spy chief for political meddling, and pointed to his repeated meetings with leaders of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Merkel does turnaround on migrants in deal to save her German government

Whatever Maassen’s true political leanings, the issue has turned him into a martyr of Merkel haters and the far right.

The AfD’s Alice Weidel wrote on Facebook that “anyone who criticises Merkel’s illegal immigration policy is mercilessly put through the wringer by the mainstream parties”.</s>German Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to Algeria on Monday to discuss migration issues and how to combat terror.

Another aim of the talks with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers is to boost Algeria’s role as a stabilising factor in North Africa, Merkel’s office indicated.

The chancellor is also meeting Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia during the one-day trip.

Merkel was also expected to address the long-standing conflict between Algeria and its western neighbour Morocco.

A planned visit in February 2017 was cancelled at the last minute as a result of Bouteflika’s health.

The president is 81 years old and has been in office since 1999.

Algeria is a major transit route for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.

The German government is under domestic pressure to cut migration.

One of the aims of Merkel’s trip is to facilitate the deportation of Algerian nationals whose applications for political asylum have been denied by Germany.

Germany’s grand coalition plans to characterise Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco as “safe countries of origin,’’ thus, easing the repatriation process for the German authorities.

While in Algeria, Merkel is to visit a girls’ high school initiated in 2008 by the German Foreign Office as part of its “Partners for the Future” programme.

She will also hold discussions with representatives of civil society.</s>BERLIN: Angela Merkel’s government on Tuesday removed domestic spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen from office, transferring him to a different post to defuse an explosive row over immigration and the far right that once more rocked the German chancellor’s fragile coalition.

“Mr Maassen will become state secretary in the interior ministry,” Merkel and the leaders of her coalition parties announced in a statement after crisis talks. The face-saving compromise lets Merkel’s fourth-term government live to see another day, after her Social Democratic coalition partners had insisted on Maassen’s departure as head of the BfV intelligence service, against the wishes of Interior Minister Horst Seehofer from her Bavarian CSU sister party. Maassen, 55, was at the centre of a heated controversy after he raised doubts about the veracity of reports of far-right hooligans and neo-Nazis randomly attacking immigrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz in late August. In his senior new role, essentially a promotion, Maassen will not be responsible for supervising the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the party leaders stressed in their statement. The far-right attacks in Chemnitz, which caused revulsion in Germany, were triggered by the fatal stabbing of a German man over which police are holding a Syrian suspect and searching for an Iraqi man. A court freed another initial Iraqi suspect on Tuesday. Days after the unrest, Maassen questioned the authenticity of amateur video footage showing street violence and voiced doubt that racists had indeed “hunted down” foreigners — comments that directly contradicted Merkel, who had deplored the xenophobic attacks and “hatred in the streets”.</s>The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is being replaced after clashing with Chancellor Angela Merkel over anti-migrant violence in the country.

Ms Merkel’s office released a short statement saying the head of Germany’s BfV spy agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, will be moved to a new position within the Interior Ministry.

The decision, which follows three-way talks between Ms Merkel and the heads of two other parties in her governing coalition, is a defeat for conservatives in her Union bloc.</s>German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government is set to decide whether to fire the domestic spy chief, as an explosive dispute over immigration and the far-right rocks her fragile coalition.

The controversy has sparked the second major stress test for a weakened Merkel's fourth-term government.

Forged half a year ago between Merkel's centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its conservative Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), the government has struggled to maintain a united front on migration.

The three party chiefs last week huddled to discuss the fate of Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the German domestic intelligence service, but postponed a decision until a new crisis meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

Maassen became the focus of controversy earlier this month after raising doubts about the veracity of reports about far-right hooligans and neo-Nazis randomly attacking immigrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz in late August.

The attacks, which sparked revulsion in Germany and abroad, followed a fatal stabbing in which an Iraqi was identified as the chief suspect.

Days later, Maassen questioned the authenticity of amateur video footage showing the violence and voiced doubt that racists had indeed "hunted down" foreigners.

Maassen's comments, including his speculation that the footage was "deliberate misinformation", directly contradicted the stance of Merkel, who had deplored the xenophobic attacks and the "hatred in the streets".

SPD leaders then demanded Merkel fire the spy chief for political meddling and pointed to his repeated meetings with leaders of the far-right and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Maassen has rejected accusations that he has supported AfD legislators with early access to unpublished data and advice on how to avoid surveillance by his Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).

Social Democrat leader Andrea Nahles has insisted Maassen must go and SPD youth wing leader Kevin Kuehnert, 29, mockingly tweeted that he should either explain his conspiracy theory or "throw in his tin-foil hat".

However, Maassen has received the backing of his immediate boss, the CSU's hardline Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who has for three years been Merkel's nemesis within the ruling grand coalition.

Seehofer, a harsh critic of Merkel's 2015 decision to allow a mass influx of migrants and refugees, had in July brought the government to the brink of collapse with his threat to close national borders to asylum seekers.

Less than three months on, and with that bitter dispute barely papered over, the conflict over Maassen's fate once more highlights the deep chasms within Merkel's coalition.

On one level, both major parties, the CDU and SPD, are distrustful partners stuck in a political marriage of convenience after the AfD, a one-time fringe party, poached millions of their voters in last year's elections.

But the rift is deepest between Merkel and Seehofer, whose own political future hangs in the balance as his CSU braces for potentially massive losses to the AfD in Bavarian state elections next month.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel removes Hans-Georg Maaßen from the position of President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution after his remarks downplaying anti-migrant violence.