Laschet’s laughter, the Merkel diamond from Scholz – Lanz fooled around with the secretaries-general of the CDU and SPD at side scenes. Including grandchildren’s trick and a chip shop. A smug skirmish without much salary. There was little space left for the issues that are important to voters in this country.
Sylvie-Sophie Schindler
Where did you end up here? Markus Lanz announced on Thursday night “the summit of state secretaries”, as if one had to assume a different position on the couch when CDU man Paul Ziemiak and SPD politician Lars Klingbeil open his show – and then is wasted most of the time with old boulevard camels. As if there were: Why did Armin Laschet laugh in the flood area? Why does Olaf Scholz “hijack” the Merkel diamond? Perhaps next time, if not everything has been said, you should ask a psychoanalyst to investigate the matter further. The citizens of this country are likely to have very different issues burning under their nails. So why this poorly copied Muppet Show?
Images that stay in the memory
The smug skirmish on offer, sometimes messing around, may be nice entertainment; nothing against it, if it is amusing. But the question must be asked whether everything that is politically important shortly before the federal election was deliberately ignored? So the most interesting thing about the banter was what was kept secret. Above all, host Lanz splashed around in this shallow body of water. It would have been up to him to correct the Frauke-Ludowig course he had taken – “Do you talk to each other?” / “Are you friends?” he started the show – but somehow he didn’t really feel like it. Lanz said it was unfair to always aim at “Armin Laschet’s laughter” in order to then draw the bow himself and shoot: “This laughter, does it cost him the chancellorship?”
He saw the photo at the time, reported Ziemiak, and thought to himself that something like that shouldn’t happen. Klingbeil recalled: “I looked at it seven times and then thought it shouldn’t be.” He didn’t understand the dimensions until the next day: “I took out the rubbish and a neighbor said, ‘Did you see that’? – I knew this picture would stick.” Ziemiak intervened that it was a “too romantic” story and attacked his opponent, saying that he only tweeted about it a little later. Yes, he did, Klingbeil admitted. Ziemiak jumped at “his” candidate for Chancellor: “I know how the flood and the deaths have gripped him emotionally.” And surprisingly unpacked a story that, as he said, he himself didn’t know what it was about. Armin Laschet, who has so far kept a low profile about the trigger of his laughter, laughed because of a “nice story” about someone who had lost his shelter, but who could be helped. Aha. Will it do any better now?
Merkel’s diamond: grandchildren’s trick à la SPD
Not Lanz, but Klingbeil gave the hint after a good ten minutes that he wanted to change the subject. He made no secret of feeling under-challenged. The moderator could of course show the Laschet sequence “as long as you want”, which is not bad for the SPD. Klingbeil spoke of the “most exciting election in 20 years”. The people in his party are highly motivated. Sometimes, however, limits would be exceeded. If there was “something over it” on social networks, he would ensure that it was deleted. He’s not worried about competition from the Greens: “Annalena Baerbock is out.” Regarding the CDU election campaign, he said: “It all seems desperate.” One should finally clean up one’s own ranks. Union MPs had filled their pockets with the mask affair: “There is no sense of guilt.”
Klingbeil reacted annoyed to the accusation that the SPD was hiding the left wing of the party. Kevin Kühnert and Saskia Esken always appear: “Nobody is hidden here.” Yes, yes, said Lanz. After all, Norbert Walter-Borjans himself canceled a few days ago when he learned that the relationship with the Left Party should be inquired about. And Ms. Esken canceled at short notice on Sunday evening at “Anne Will”, although, according to talk guest Robin Alexander, she was spotted at a chip shop near the studio. Chips stand as a hiding place – you have to come up with that first. No, again, no hiding place. Klingbeil repeatedly resisted the “hiding narrative”. The CDU is just jealous of the unity of the SPD. In addition, Ms. Esken accompanied Scholz to the Triell on that Sunday evening. To assume that you are campaigning 24 hours a day, that is “deeply misogynistic”. Those jokes with the chip shop just don’t work. I’m sorry, what? You already know that from the Greens. Those who criticized Baerbock were sometimes dismissed with the argument that it was misogynous.
Ziemiak did not shine with the often heard argument of “political legacy sneaking”. The allegation went to Olaf Scholz. The SPD had seen that the successful policies of the Union and Merkel were reaching the voters, and now they are copying it. Including the Merkel diamond. “That’s the classic grandchildren’s trick,” said Ziemiak. Lanz laughed: “It’s getting more and more bottomless.” Klingbeil: “That upsets me very much.” Anyway, what do the CDU imagine: “You don’t own the Chancellery, you don’t own the state.” Especially since Angela Merkel has hijacked issues in the SPD. No, you hijack. No you So it went back and forth. According to. And messed up. Finally, the CDU politician tried hard to draw back and addressed the “entire financial scandals” for which Scholz was partly responsible: “Do we want to entrust the country to someone like that.” But he did not understand how to exploit this topic in his favor, which is why it quickly sent itself off.
The only real point of contention: European policy
Want some more politics? After all, there was about 15 minutes of European politics. The Klingbeil used to accuse Ziemiak of “anti-European resentment”. “Paul is a staunch European.” That he now behaves differently in the election campaign, “that’s not him, I don’t know him like that.” He felt “deeply sorry” for him that he had to give the “anti-European” in order to mobilize voters. Paul is “in a panic”: “And then he rushes against the unemployed in Romania.” Klingbeil referred to statements by the CDU General Secretary, according to which he had classified Scholz’s EU plans as “dangerous”. According to Ziemiak, the SPD intends to create a transfer and debt union; German taxpayers should then pay for the social benefits in other countries. And would also be liable for the debts of other EU countries.
Ziemiak has already received harsh criticism on the Internet for this being cheap populism. What do you think of that, Mr Klingbeil? He resisted the allegations resolutely. And looked elsewhere. It is now a matter of making Europe stronger as an economic area in order to be able to keep up with China and the USA: “Europe is the most important German task.” Ziemiak emphasized that he was a “fan of Europe” and wanted Europe to be held together. Then he continued to add more. For a strong Europe, you need treaties that everyone adheres to. This includes not being liable for the debts of others. That would weaken the cohesion. The CDU, on the other hand, would protect the German taxpayer. Lanz said that ultimately the CDU and SPD were on the same line: “This is a pseudo-conflict.” So please, then another hammer. At the last minute, Klingbeil wanted to back out again. “We haven’t even talked about Hans-Georg Maaßen yet.” Lanz is amused: “Put another one in.” But that would be “one too many” now.
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