Withdrawal from Hikel – integration officer criticizes SPD

Retreat from Hikel in Neukölln

Integration Commissioner Balci sharply criticized the SPD

SPD Neukölln district mayor Martin Hikel does not plan to run in the next election. Integration officers at the district level understand this and blame the party.

The integration officer for the Neukölln district, Güner Balci, sharply criticized SPD Berlin after district mayor Martin Hikel (SPD) announced his resignation. In an interview with “Spiegel”, Balci partly blamed the party for Hikel’s decision. “Martin Hikel has been championed for the last ten years by a small, very stubborn left-wing group,” he told the news magazine.

Recently this has increased. Massive pressure was exerted from state politics. “These people are systematically trying to bring down Hikel. It’s a simple but effective strategy,” Balci criticized. I believe that those involved cannot fully appreciate the harm they have caused to the party and themselves.

Balci rejected internal party criticism of Hikel, who is also co-chair of the Berlin SPD, for deliberately avoiding the phrase “anti-Muslim racism”. “This is a fighting term,” the integration officer said. “Anyone who talks about anti-Muslim racism today wants to put rampant anti-Semitism and Islamism in perspective.”

For example, Hikel is campaigning for reporting centers that document cases of anti-Muslim behavior such as insults towards Muslim women who wear the hijab.

“We currently have reporting centers, some of which are based on Islamist and activist groups, some of which have been classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as being at least as close to the Muslim Brotherhood,” Balci said. “These Islamists and activists have also infiltrated parts of politics as well as the SPD and government,” said the integration officer.