Election campaign: Sharp tones in the election campaign – Heil accuses the CDU of insulting him

Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) has accused CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann of insulting millions of employees. Linnemann assumes that 45 million workers are generally lazy, said Heil in a dpa video interview. That is an outrage.

The labor minister was reacting to statements made by the CDU general secretary in the RTL/ntv early start. Linnemann had complained there: “We are no longer growing. We are at the bottom, we are being relegated. In Germany there is no longer any willingness to perform.”

Heil acknowledged profound problems in Germany. The key is to maintain or strengthen competitiveness in international competition. “But not by demotivating or even insulting the hard-working people in Germany.”

Addressing the CDU general secretary, he said: “And I find it insulting when one generally assumes that the Germans are no longer capable of performing in this country.” This is also demotivating.

Dispute over the right path

Behind the back and forth there are also differences in concepts. Linnemann announced that the CDU would be running in the federal election in order to promote motivation again. “That’s why we would like to make overtime bonuses tax-free. Anyone who does extra work must be relieved of the burden. We want every pensioner who voluntarily wants to work longer to receive 2,000 euros tax-free,” he said.

Heil, on the other hand, said: “We have major economic challenges at the moment.” No other economy in the world is as dependent on the world market as Germany. “The manufacturing industry is suffering from the fact that others are currently isolating themselves – keyword China, keyword USA.” The task now is to “fight for industrial jobs.”

“This is an outrage”

Based on a slogan from the Union, Heil emphasized: “Performance must be worth it.” There are still 45 million working people in Germany “who really struggle every day, who have to make ends meet and who we need.”

Heil: “These are craftsmen, they are nursing staff, they are self-employed, they are soldiers, they are police officers, they are firefighters, they are cleaners.” According to the Labor Minister, Linnemann has a “funny view of Germany, how it treats people.” “That’s not my way of doing politics.”

Shortly before Heil’s statements, the SPD had called for a fairness agreement for all democratic parties represented in the Bundestag on Wednesday. The SPD, Union and FDP had repeatedly escalated their disputes in the previous days – already around the expulsion of Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and again around Scholz’s vote of confidence at the beginning of the week.

SPD follows up on Linnemann

Anyone who was hoping for a breather until over the Christmas period will probably be disappointed by the renewed exchange of blows. The labor minister, who has already acted with a tough hand in his political life as SPD general secretary, answers the question of whether he wants to show his combative side by the planned election date on February 23rd: “I am combative for the issues that matter to me are close to your heart.”

When it comes to issues of the economy, labor market and social policy, there are clear differences between the Merz CDU with Linnemann and the SPD with Scholz, said Heil. “If, for example, it’s about making work really worth more, it’s also about better wages – keyword minimum wage.” The CDU, on the other hand, stands for tax gifts for the very wealthy, criticized Heil.

Dispute and understanding

“I’m always in favor of arguments in a democracy, and it’s also part of it that you have to be able to compromise.” Heil said he wasn’t in favor of putting each other down personally. “But there must also be a dispute between Democrats about the right concepts.”

Linnemann in the early start of RTL/ntv