The vehement criticism of judges and public prosecutors of Secretary of State Otto Carstens (CDU) is also causing concern for the Greens in the Kiel state parliament. "Schleswig-Holstein is known for its liberal and successful judicial policy, there must be no doubt about this course," said parliamentary group leader Lasse Petersdotter on Monday of the German Press Agency on request. "We Greens take the fact that there are now concerns about the Secretary of State for Justice from the broad judiciary very seriously."
It is important "that Carstens dispels these concerns," said Petersdotter. "There is a lot to do in judicial policy, we have to get back to practical work quickly." Carstens had come under massive pressure: first there were allegations of plagiarism in connection with his doctoral thesis, then there were dubious statements about the prison system and his membership in the violent Irminsul student fraternity in Hamburg. This had taken part in fencing events at the same time as the Germania fraternity, which was classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and was therefore observed, but has since ended at the request of Carstens.
According to the Corps, Irminsul unanimously decided "on the initiative of our member Otto Carstens" in a board meeting to withdraw from the Hamburger Waffenring. Members of Irminsul and Germania had come together under its roof. "This means that even fencing encounters with the Hamburg fraternity Germania are excluded," explained Irminsul about his board decision. All social contacts with Germania had been discontinued for a long time. "Extremists have no place with us and we don't want anything to do with extremists either," the corps emphasized.
Since Carstens only moved under pressure, it was difficult for the SPD parliamentary group to believe in a "repentant sinner," said justice politician Marc Timmer on Monday. "The fact that it had to come to the point that even the representatives of the judiciary withdrew their trust from Mr. Carstens before he acted shows that he acted solely under pressure." The overall picture continues to show "that Dr. Carstens is not suitable for the office of State Secretary for Justice". In addition, there are still open questions regarding his membership in the Austrian fraternity Gothia and the ongoing plagiarism proceedings at the University of Innsbruck.
Like the smaller New Judges' Association, the Judges' Association clearly distanced itself from Carstens. Both associations actually demanded his replacement. "After the judiciary withdrew their confidence in the Secretary of State for Justice, Mr. Carstens finally became intolerable," said SPD parliamentary group leader Thomas Losse-Müller. "The prime minister must no longer cave in to the conservative forces in his party."
The judges' association, which has more than 750 judges and public prosecutors, said on Friday that the judiciary could not afford to be paralyzed by ongoing personnel debates. "We therefore call on the Prime Minister to end the current uncertainty and to clarify who should lead the justice department alongside the minister." The ongoing debate about the person of the State Secretary represents a significant burden for the judiciary.
