Tuesday, February 25
Merz-Weidel embrace: Berlin police apologise for infringing artistic freedom
A large-scale poster had been displayed on the façade of the Maxim Gorki Theatre since February 19 – a provocative work of political art criticising the mainstream conservative CDU’s perceived political embrace of the far-right AfD. The image depicts CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz and AfD leader Alice Weidel in a romantic embrace, eyes closed, beneath the slogan: “The border is no longer secure.”
This steamy sight proved too much for Berlin police, who forcibly removed the 10-metre-long poster from the historic theatre ahead of Sunday’s election. However, Police President Barbara Slowik Meisel has now expressed regret over the action, conceding that it may have infringed on the theatre’s right to artistic freedom.
The key question was whether the poster constituted insulting public officials, a criminal offense in Germany. Slowik Meisel has now acknowledged that it did not – and the poster has since been reinstated on the theatre’s façade.
The artwork was created by the activist group Centre for Political Beauty (Zentrum für Politische Schönheit), targeting the CDU’s recent decision to break the so-called “Brandmauer“ (political firewall) by seeking to pass legislation with the support of the far-right, a move widely seen as dangerously legitimising the AfD.
