Reul in “ntv early start”
“New enemies of the state are establishing themselves”
08/15/2022 11:42 am
Rising prices and energy shortages in winter: The Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, fears that bad things are brewing. The protest potential in Germany is no longer concerned with Corona, but is fueling fears in the population with new topics.
The Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, is concerned that the mood in the country will deteriorate and that issues such as the Russian war against Ukraine, the energy crisis and rising prices will give the conspiracy believers new fuel. “It’s no longer about protesters, it’s almost about something like new enemies of the state that are establishing themselves,” said the CDU politician on ntv’s “Frühstart”.
The protest potential has not increased, but the occasions have become more intense. “I’m worried that if things get really tangible – energy crisis, prices, cold living rooms, fuel is getting more and more expensive – that the ground for such narratives, for such conspiracy theories, will increase,” says Reul.
Corona and vaccination are no longer issues after the general easing measures. “But they are now abusing the concerns of people’s fears in other fields. And they are not made of cardboard,” says Reul. The interior minister advises taking the dangers seriously. “If you look at it on the Internet today, on Telegram and such, they are increasingly addressing the issues of the Ukraine war, the crisis, the gas crisis, prices and are trying to get more people together.” Panic is not a sensible reaction. “We can only be careful, watch out, look online, keep our eyes and ears open, notice what’s happening.”
Reul believes that setting up a general crisis management team for a possible energy crisis is premature. However, the police must remain able to work. “We have additional tanks, 40 tanks with a capacity of 40,000 liters, which we are now distributing to the police across the country so that we can be deployed anywhere if there is an emergency,” said the interior minister. You are also prepared for the event of a blackout. More than 100 satellite phones have been ordered for the police to be able to communicate in the event of a power failure.
In order to strengthen trust in the state and dig the water out for extremists, Reul advises honesty and openness. “The most important thing is to be honest, don’t make any promises that you can’t keep,” said Reul. Scaremongering doesn’t help. “People say, oh my God, I can also spread panic messages, they should solve the problems.”