What would be the consequences if AfD politician Björn Höcke were to cancel the MDR state broadcasting contract as Minister President? The media magazine ZAPP asked media law expert Dr. Tobias Mast.
The German far right party AfD is planning a frontal attack on public broadcasting: If Björn Höcke became prime minister in Thuringia after the state elections in automn, he wants to terminate the MDR state treaty and abolish the broadcasting fee. But is it that simple?
ZAPP reporter Hans Jakob Rausch took a closer look at the election promise, took a look at the ÖRR past and obtained legal assessments from Tobias Mast, head of the research program “Regulatory Structures and Rule Formation in Digital Communication Spaces” at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans Bredow Institute. Could the parliamentary groups in the Thuringian state parliament protect broadcasting from Höcke’s grasp by amending the constitution? And how does MDR’s legal advisor protect his station from the AfD’s attack?
To the ZAPP report (19 minutes) from 24.07.2024 (in German)