After destroying Clinton, Russia launches a campaign to destroy Germany’s Merkel, report

Share:

Hillary Clinton (L)  WITH Angela Merke  in a file photo
Hillary Clinton (L) WITH Angela Merke in a file photo
Moscow will escalate a decade long operation to boost support for the far-right and nationalist groups in Germany.

It comes as a CIA probe confirms Moscow helped Donald Trump win the US election though a series of cyber attacks.

A US official familiar with the investigation says Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue to wreck havoc.

The official said Moscow is launching a similar effort to influence the next German election, following an escalating campaign to promote far-right and nationalist political parties and individuals in Europe that began more than a decade ago.

In both cases, said the official, Mr Putin’s campaigns in both Europe and the US are intended to disrupt and discredit the Western concept of democracy by promoting extremist candidates, parties, and political figures.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term in office, has already said she cannot rule out Russia interfering in Germany’s 2017 election through internet attacks and misinformation campaigns.

The under-fire leader is attempting to regain support lost to the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Support has surged for the AfD in the wake of Mrs Merkel’s open door immigration policy which saw a record 890,000 mainly Muslim migrants from the Middle East and Africa arrive in Germany last year.

The rise of the AfD could also impact Germany’s EU membership as a wave of populism threatens to break up the crumbling bloc.

German officials have accused Moscow of trying to manipulate German media to fan popular angst over issues like the migrant crisis, weaken voter trust and breed dissent within the European Union so that it drops sanctions against Moscow.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has reported a striking increase in Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilising German society, and targeted cyber attacks against political parties.

Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the BfV spy agency, said: “We see aggressive and increased cyber spying and cyber operations that could potentially endanger German government officials, members of parliament and employees of democratic parties.”

Mr Maassen, raised similar concerns about Russian efforts to interfere in local German elections last month, said there is increasing evidence about such intervention and said further cyber attacks are expected.

The agency said it had seen a wide variety of Russian propaganda tools and “enormous use of financial resources” to carry out “disinformation” campaigns aimed at the Russian-speaking community in Germany, political movements, parties and other decision makers.

The goal was to spread uncertainty, strengthen extremist groups and parties, complicate the work of the federal government and “weaken or destabilise the Federal Republic of Germany”.

Russian officials have denied all accusations of interference in the US election or intending to weaken the EU.

EXPRESS.CO.UK

Share:

Comments

2 responses to “After destroying Clinton, Russia launches a campaign to destroy Germany’s Merkel, report”

  1. EXPRESS.CO.UK with the “After destroying Clinton, Russia launches a campaign to destroy Germany’s Merkel, report” isn’t referring to the real dangers that Angela Merkel has warned about – the recent successes against the terrorist group could lead to heightened danger at home. Her message comes as Germany and its allies seek new ways to counter radicalism.

    Russian officials have denied all accusations of interference in the US election or intending to weaken the EU as well as more than 1,000 Russian athletes benefitted from state-sponsored doping
    More than 1,000 Russian athletes across more than 30 sports were involved in or benefited from state-sponsored doping between 2011 and 2015, according to a second report on the subject by the respected Canadian law professor Richard McLaren.
    Speaking in London, McLaren said he had found “an institutional conspiracy across summer, winter and Paralympic sports” in Russia between 2011 and 2015 and “a cover-up that operated on an unprecedented scale”.
    This story is still developing, so check back throughout the day for more updates.

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar

    The ‘concept’ of allowing females to control anything has not been as widely spread as many would like to think. Even in so-called ‘liberal’ countries.
    Even if they are quite capable of choosing to have competent males around to advise them.
    One could look at how many competent females surround the ‘Big Boys’ for an answer on that bit of ‘trust’.
    And the ‘power-brokers’ of another country do not necessarily enjoy having to really ‘work’ with one.
    There are problems of the ‘human psyche’ which, at roots, are never wanted to be seen.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *