A German right-wing, scandal-ridden politician who was the second-in-command of the Bavarian government has been found dead in a Berlin hotel room — as investigators are unable to rule out foul play.
asserted
investigators → ride → play
Hubert Aiwanger, the leader of the populist Free Voters party, was in the German capital Wednesday ahead of a speech celebrating the opening of a new party office when he suddenly fell ill the night before the event, Bild reported.
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Bild → celebrate → event
The dad of two, 55, opted to stay in his third-floor room at Berlin’s boutique Hotel Neuer-Fritz to recuperate before he was found dead later that night when his pals unsuccessfully tried to contact him.
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pals → opt → him
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into his death.
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Prosecutors → launch → death
Nothing can be ruled out at this point,” Michael Petzold, a spokesperson for Berlin’s public prosecutor’s office, told Bild.
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Petzold → rule → Bild
“For investigative reasons, the specific circumstances of the discovery cannot yet be disclosed.
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circumstances → disclose → discovery
Aiwanger, who had been a Bavarian lawmaker since 2008 and Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria since 2018, was found with no external injuries, however, sources told Bild.
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sources → find → Bild
His cause of death remains unclear but those in Aiwanger’s senior coalition partner, the Christian Social Union, told Bild he had experienced some gastrointestinal problems.
uncertain
he → remain → problems
Aiwanger’s death comes just three years after he was embroiled in an antisemitism controversy that threatened to blow up the Free Voters campaign ahead of the 2023 Bavarian state elections.
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that → come → elections
He came under fire after a report in Süddeutsche Zeitung – one of Bavaria’s largest newspapers – claimed he published a leaflet mocking the Holocaust while he was at school during the 1980s, DW reported.
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DW → come → 1980s
The pol admitted to having copies of the pamphlet in his backpack and described its contents as “disgusting and inhumane.”
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pol → admit → contents
Helmut Aiwanger, Aiwanger’s older brother, appeared to take the hit as he claimed to have produced the sickening literature.
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he → appear → literature
Aiwanger has also been accused by his former classmates of making antisemitic jokes after visiting a former Nazi concentration camp in 1987.
“On one evening, I was very upset that he made a joke about Jews, which I remember as being very repulsive,” Aiwanger’s classmate told the radio station, Bayerischer Rundfunk, according to DW.
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classmate → accuse → DW
Aiwanger also made the Nazi salute when going into class, another one of his former classmates alleged in August 2023.
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one → make → August
Classmates also accused the politician of making quips about malnourished children in Africa.
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Classmates → accuse → Africa
Aiwanger was fronted over the allegations, appearing to hint he may have been foolish during his time at school.
“It is certainly the case that in adolescence, one thing or another could be interpreted in such and such a way that is in line with the things that 15-year-old me is being accused of,” he told Welt TV, as per DW.
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he → front → DW
“But in any case, I can say that since I reached adulthood, over the past decades, [I am] not an antisemite, not an extremist – but rather, a humanitarian.”
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I → say → decades
The scandal threatened to derail Aiwanger’s campaign – but his party secured their best-ever result in the 2023 Bavarian State Elections – finishing second with 37 seats, up 10 on their 2018 performance.
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party → threaten → performance
Free Voters finished ahead of Germany’s more established parties such as the right-wing Alternative Fur Deutschland, the Social Democrats, the Greens, the liberal Free Democrats.
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Voters → finish → Deutschland
The result meant that Aiwanger’s party continued in coalition with the Christian Social Union.
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party → mean → Union
Markus Söder, Bavaria’s State Premier and the leader of the CSU, described Aiwanger’s death as an “absolute tragedy.
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Söder → describe → tragedy
“We are all deeply shocked.
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We → shock → ?
We mourn with them and pray for them.”
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We → mourn → them
Karl Lauterbach, a SPD politician, acknowledged Aiwanger’s past – describing him as “controversial and not easy to deal with.”
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Lauterbach → acknowledge → him
Aiwanger was unmarried but lived with his 48-year-old girlfriend, Tanja Schweiger.
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Aiwanger → live → girlfriend
They were in a relationship for around 15 years and shared two sons, Laurenz and Adrian.
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They → share → sons
On Nov. 1 — which happened to be All Saints’ Day — she chillingly posted on Instagram, “Life ends but love does not.”
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love → happen → Instagram
The Aporia
