German 'lawfare': When lawsuits become a political weapon

A verbal slip, an attempted quip, a lawsuit: Things can move fast in the rancorous atmosphere that currently rules German politics. The brief exchange happened on a political TV talk show shortly after the Berlin election on September 20, won by the socialist Left Party . The show's host, Maybrit Illner, quickly corrected herself after accidentally saying of the Left Party's Berlin mayoral candidate, "Elif Eralp says she is an antisemite…. She is not an antisemite." One of her guests, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt , of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), responded immediately: "Na doch" (or, "well, yes she is").