Hans Rustad Tyske aviser stilte spørsmålet etter London-vandaliseringen: Kan det skje her? Svaret avhenger av hvor man «sitter».
Ja, sa den neststørste politiforeningen, og brukte uttrykket «kriminell energi».
Nei, sa den største politifagforeningen, og fikk søtte av innenriksministeren som avfeide en slik mulighet.
Man får øye på en strukturell svakhet: i bestemte kommandoposter er det politisk umulig å innrømme en mulighet for omfattende samfunnsopprør.
Da kan man bli overrasket.
On Wednesday, the mass-circulation tabloid Bild asked: «Could it also happen in Germany?» In an interview with the paper Rainer Wendt, head of DPoIG, the country’s second-largest police union, warned that the «highly explosive mix» of criminal energy and social alienation also exists in Germany.
«Police and politicians in Germany would be just as overwhelmed in the early days if it came to massive riots like those in Great Britain,» he told the paper, calling for better resources.
But German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich rejected such parallels, telling the daily Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung: «Fortunately we don’t have social tensions such as those in England and other European nations.»
On Thursday, the country’s largest police union, the GdP, called the collective speculation about such violence in Germany «pure populism and fearmongering» that could spark copycat riots.
«Those who make a crude, knee-jerk comparison between the situations in England and Germany are only encouraging violent criminals,» GdP leader Bernhard Witthaut said in a statement. While there are isolated incidents of riots such as the «ritualized» May 1 clashes between leftist anarchists and police in Berlin, or hooligan activity at football matches, the risk of widespread violence is minimal, he added.
Some German commentators continued the discussion on Thursday over the potential causes of the riots in England, while others criticized the tendency to compare the two countries as self-indulgent navelgazing.
