Green politician Katharina Dröge confronts CDU leader Merz in the Bundestag with his remarks about Berlin-Kreuzberg and calls for a clear definition of “German”.
The Greens parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge has sharply criticized a derogatory remark by CDU leader Friedrich Merz about Berlin-Kreuzberg.
In the general debate on the 2024 budget in the Bundestag, Dröge said that Merz keeps choosing such images to define who belongs and who does not, who is right in this country and who is wrong. Turning to Merz, Dröge said: “What isn’t German about Berlin-Kreuzberg? And what makes the people in the Bavarian beer tent more German?” Is that because people from many nations lived in Kreuzberg and people from many biographies and not just people whose families had lived in this country for hundreds of years?
“Putting togetherness of the people forward”
“A CDU that goes this way, that starts to define who is normal and who isn’t, who is German and who isn’t, who belongs and who doesn’t, is going a dangerous path, going an irresponsible path,” said Dröge. Instead, a Union is needed that takes the claim of being a “people’s party,” meaning being a party for everyone, seriously. “What we need is a conservative party that puts the solidarity of the people in this country first.”
Dröge continued: “We need a conservative party that can say: Berlin-Kreuzberg is Germany, just like the Bavarian beer tent. We need a conservative party that can say: Christopher Street Day is Germany, just like Bayreuth Festivals.”
Merz said on Monday at a beer tent appearance at the Bavarian Gillamoos folk festival: “Kreuzberg is not Germany, Gillamoos is Germany.”
Source: Stern
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