Scholz defends his “nonsense” statement about Merz

SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz has defended his controversial statement about his Union rival Friedrich Merz. Scholz said on Tuesday in Berlin that he said that Merz likes to talk about “tünkram” – i.e. “made up stuff” – because he told the untruth about his behavior at the EU level. Contrary to what Merz claims, he speaks to a lot of people at the EU and takes part in debates constantly.

In the Bundestag on Monday, in the debate on the vote of confidence, Merz accused Scholz of being passive in the debates at EU level and not having his say. This is “a shame for others,” said the CDU leader. “It’s embarrassing how they behave at the European level. They’re embarrassing Germany.”

“Fritze Merz likes to tell nonsense,” said Scholz on ZDF’s “heute journal” when he was asked about Merz’s statement. “Tünkram” is Low German and means stupid stuff or nonsense.

CSU boss Markus Söder reacted angrily on Tuesday. Scholz’s behavior was “really impossible,” he said at a joint press conference with the Union Chancellor candidate. It is a sign of helplessness and disrespect to denigrate names in a television program. Scholz is no longer a role model for democracy, but rather “the most embarrassing Chancellor our country has ever had.”

“I always find it very surprising that people say idiosyncratic things that are not entirely true – and then are surprised that they point it out somewhat casually,” said Scholz on Tuesday about his statement about Merz. That’s exactly what he did on Tuesday evening. His suggestion now is to refrain from “continuing the election campaign with untrue allegations.”