They investigated the man who called the German vice chancellor an “idiot”

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Police searched the home of a 64-year-old man after he was accused of insulting German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck.

In an uncomfortable revelation that comes as Habek is seeking his Green party’s chancellor nomination, prosecutors said Friday that the economy minister had filed criminal charges after a man called him an “idiot” on social media in June.

The post on X included a photo of Habek over a fake version of the Schwarzkopf Professional shampoo brand logo with the pun “Schwachkopf Professional” — meaning “professional idiot.”

Habek’s lawyers have filed a criminal case, prosecutors in the Bavarian city of Bamberg told the German news service DPA, confirming earlier media reports.

They said the man also faced a second charge of uploading an image on X that referred to the Nazi era.

The search of his apartment, which took place on Tuesday, was carried out in connection with the national day against anti-Semitic hate crimes on the Internet. The investigation is ongoing.

The story was picked up by politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and alternative media, which did not publish details of the Nazi allegations.

Habek actively stated the need for politicians to stand up to hate and threats on the Internet. His economy ministry told German newspaper Die Welt in July that he had filed more than 700 criminal complaints related to hate crimes with the support of the nonprofit Hate Aid. They included insults and death threats.

Last week, in a video ad for the Green Party’s chancellor nomination, filmed at his kitchen table, Habek warned that the “populism fungus” was spreading and being fed by authoritarian regimes with troll and bot armies as well as populists. at home in Germany.

However, the latest complaint has drawn comparisons to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has launched criminal investigations against tens of thousands of citizens over the insult.

The German Criminal Code contains provisions not only for slander and libel, but also for insult, which is punishable by up to a year in prison.

Stefan Huster, chair of public law at the Ruhr University Bochum, defended Habek’s lawsuit and called for automatic prosecution of insults by public figures on social networks. “Anyone who bothered to report this deserves praise and recognition,” he wrote on social media.

Habek’s office and the Green Party did not respond to requests for comment.

Green party members were due to begin a three-day conference in the western German city of Wiesbaden on Friday as they prepare for extraordinary elections is expected to take place in February after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s tripartite coalition collapsed last week.

Habek, who has released a series of stylized videos addressing the public, is expected by many to be endorsed as the party’s candidate for chancellor, even though the chances of him ever taking the role are slim.

The Greens have faced upheaval after a series of dismal performances in regional elections that led to the resignation of both of the party’s co-chairs, although spirits have lifted since the end of their unhappy marriage to the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

The Green Party, which came third with nearly 15 percent of the vote in the last federal election in 2021, is now in fourth place with about 11 percent, the poll shows.