Germany rejects scaremongering claim over civil defence plan

BERLIN – The German government is rejecting accusations of scaremongering amid reports that a new civil defence strategy includes a recommendation to stock up on 10 days’ worth of groceries.

Germany’s Cabinet is to approve the plan Wednesday. Interior Ministry spokesman Johannes Dimroth said Monday it’s a long-planned update to a paper last revised in 1995, and not a reaction to current security concerns, but he wouldn’t confirm details ahead of its approval.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper reported on the plan Sunday. The opposition Left Party’s co-leader in parliament, Dietmar Bartsch, argued that a call to hoard supplies could “completely unsettle people.”

Dimroth said that “scaremongering is exactly the wrong word.” Officials noted that the government has long offered such tips, albeit little-noticed, on how to prepare for emergencies.