Greens Chief Banaszak Slams Spiegel AfD Cover as 'Horror Porn'
- Green Party leader Felix Banaszak dismissed Der Spiegel's cover labelling Ulrich Siegmund the 'most dangerous man in Germany' as 'horror porn' that fails to reach voters, while
- Banaszak expressed particular irritation at Siegmund's decision to buy up copies of the critical Spiegel edition and sign them for supporters, calling it an opportunistic campaign
- Banaszak revealed he was confronted aggressively at close range by a man on the campaign trail who raised his arm during the encounter, an incident he described as genuinely tense
Felix Banaszak, the leader of Germany's Green Party, has sharply criticised Der Spiegel's decision to brand AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund the "most dangerous man in Germany" on its front cover, describing the framing as counterproductive and dismissing it as "horror porn" that "doesn't reach anyone".
Banaszak rejects Spiegel cover while warning of real danger
Speaking on a television programme hosted by Pinar Atalay, Banaszak, 36, was unambiguous in his disdain for the magazine's editorial choice. "I am not at all convinced by this front cover, because it doesn't have the effect that is currently needed," he said. He was careful, however, to distinguish his objection from any dismissal of the threat posed by the AfD. "I am not among those who trivialise the danger emanating from a party hostile to the constitution," he added.
Banaszak argued that Siegmund, 35, does not at first glance inspire the fear the cover implies, but warned that behind the AfD's lead candidate stood figures such as a party supporter who, he alleged, had attacked a 14-year-old with a baseball bat for tearing down election posters. "I do not want Saxony-Anhalt to be governed by such people," he said.
Siegmund's response draws particular irritation
Banaszak's sharpest remarks were directed not at the magazine itself but at Siegmund's reaction to the cover. The AfD politician reportedly bought up copies of the edition and signed them for supporters, turning the critical coverage into a campaign prop. Banaszak described this visibly exasperated, saying he had no time for such a manoeuvre and even less for what he called the "amusing spectacle" of Siegmund so nimbly exploiting an attack on him.
Confrontation on the campaign trail
The Green leader also recounted a tense personal incident captured in a television clip, in which a man approached him at close range and shouted: "Your name is in my head!" The man raised his arm during the exchange, Banaszak said, acknowledging it "could have gone wrong". He was, however, reluctant to dwell on the episode. "It sounds more like a heroic story than it was. Nobody needs to worry about me," he said. "But it was an undeniably tense situation."
Banaszak drew a pointed distinction between his own position and that of the communities he was visiting: "I am in an unimaginably privileged situation: if I don't like it, I can leave. Others cannot. They live there."
Direct engagement as a deliberate strategy
The incident reflects a conscious campaign decision, Banaszak explained. He said he had chosen not to address voters from a safe distance on large stages but to meet them directly. In a country where, he estimated, 40 to 45 per cent of the population might consider voting for a party hostile to the constitution, such encounters risked becoming confrontational. "I will not write anyone off wholesale," he said. He also noted that he had only been able to attend the CSD event in Neustrelitz because he had personal protection — security, he added, that he does not always have.
