Numbers increase: explode insults against politicians in Rhineland-Palatinate!

Numbers increase: explode insults against politicians in Rhineland-Palatinate!

In the current report by N-TV on the increasing proceedings against politicians in Rhineland-Palatinate, an alarming increase in cases of insult, defamation and nurse is shown. According to this, a total of 111 procedures were recorded in 2024, which represents a significant increase compared to the 54 procedures in 2023 and 71 procedures in 2022. In these 111 procedures, 31 were led against unknown. So far there are no procedural figures for 2025. These developments throw a light on the current climate of political communication in Germany and the legal framework that plays a decisive role in this.

The legal foundations for these procedures are anchored in Paragraph 188 of the Criminal Code (StGB), which regulates specific punishments for insults, disruptions and defamation against "people of political life". Here, insults with prison terms of up to three years or fines can be punished. Increases can be punished with prison terms of three months to five years, while defamation can even lead to a prison sentence of six months to five years. According to the wikipedia page on this topic , the fact to combat right-wing extremism and hate crime was expanded to expand to To include value judgments. This was done against the background that only false factual claims were punished.

protection for political actors

The paragraph 188 of the Criminal Code serves the protection of politically active people against hiring attacks. It is important to prevent emotionalized and polarized public disputes. Not only are high -ranking politicians such as the Federal President and Members of the Federal Government, but also journalists, trade unionists and association representatives, provided they deal with significant state affairs. Since 2021, the fact has also comprised local politicians.

The Federal Constitutional Court confirmed the compatibility of § 187a StGB in 1955 with the equality rate of the Basic Law. However, politically active people have higher tolerance obligations, since freedom of expression in political disputes is considered particularly important. Nevertheless, the consideration between freedom of expression and honor protection remains a central topic, although abuse criticism always gives priority to honor protection.

critical discussions and developments

More and more discussions are about the increase in advertisements against politicians and a possible “advertisement industry”. The Higher Regional Court of Zweibrücken raised an acquittal of a user who insulted Angela Merkel. In contrast, the Bavarian Supreme Regional Court freely spoke demonstrators that Olaf Scholz called the "folk pest". These contradictory judgments have triggered medial controversy that are about the effects on freedom of expression and dealing with political statements.

For future development, it remains to be seen whether the increasing number of cases is also an indicator of a changed perception of political communication. It will be as crucial as the legislature reacts to these developments.