German interior minister backs major planned funding hike for police

Germany plans to spend an additional €950 million ($1.1 billion) on police and cybersecurity next year in response to an increasing number of attacks on its infrastructure, with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt telling critics on Thursday that they must not underestimate the threat to citizens.

Those challenging the massive increase to his budget should consider the current threat level, Dobrindt told lawmakers in the Bundestag who are debating the next budget.

To underline his point, he said the explosive-laden drone discovered at Leipzig Airport near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft last month - a failed attack that Germany has officially blamed on Russia - was "not an isolated incident."

Under the plans, the Interior Ministry's budget would rise to a total of €16.7 billion, with police to receive more funding for additional staffing. 

The Federal Office for Information Security, which is responsible for cybersecurity, is also to be given additional funds.

Sonja Eichwede, the deputy parliamentary group leader for the Social Democrats - the junior partner alongside Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives in the government coalition - noted that funding would also be increased to boost civil defence efforts.

Gottfried Curio, internal affairs spokesman for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the biggest opposition party in parliament, accused the government of "giving away billions abroad," including to Ukraine, without commenting on the exact details of the budget plans.

Dietmar Bartsch from The Left party said the home affairs budget set the wrong priorities. He criticized cuts to political education and referred to the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt last weekend, which the AfD won with a record majority.

"Did you not see the election result last Sunday?" he asked Dobrindt.

The Greens criticized the government for planned cuts to integration classes for migrants.