Laschet relies on attack: SPD victory would jeopardize growth


Armin Laschet

The Union’s candidate for chancellor has campaigned for support at the CSU party congress.

(Photo: Reuters)

Nuremberg With a lot of cheers and long applause, the CSU welcomed Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet in Nuremberg at their party conference on Saturday. “I don’t know whether you will be greeted so euphorically everywhere, with us you will,” said CSU boss Markus Söder after moving into the exhibition hall with Laschet for minutes. “We want you to become Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. The stage is yours, ”said Söder to Laschet. Finally some tailwind from Bavaria instead of doubts about one’s own candidate.

In his speech at the party congress, Laschet then went for an attack in view of the poor poll numbers. He attacked the SPD and the Greens sharply. He warned of long-term economic damage in the wake of the pandemic if the wrong political course was set after the election. Now it is important not to endanger the delicate plant growth, said Laschet.

“What the SPD, the Greens and the Left are planning is exactly the opposite. Tax increases and more bureaucracy will endanger this prosperity. ”Laschet criticized his SPD rival and main competitor Olaf Scholz in particular. As finance minister, he only managed so well because Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) was watching over him.

In addition, Scholz should finally rule out a coalition with the left. Scholz refused to give a clear rejection of red-green-red, said Laschet. The Union, on the other hand, has clearly demarcated itself against the radical left as well as against the right, stressed Laschet. “We will never talk to the AfD. They have to get out of the parliaments, ”he said.

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Laschet emphasized that participation by the left in government would be dangerous for Germany. The left say no to NATO in terms of foreign policy, have rejected every major EU treaty and have not even approved the delicate deployment of the German armed forces to rescue German citizens from Afghanistan.

Laschet again criticized Scholz’s behavior after the public prosecutor’s office searched his ministry. “I would have liked a little more care in several cases in the financial supervision,” said Laschet. In addition, after the search, it would have been right to assure the public prosecutor’s office of support and not to cast doubts on the rule of law.

Laschet also tried to set his own ideas and accents. He called for stronger European military capabilities than lessons learned from Afghanistan. You have to be able to secure an airport like the one in Kabul without the Americans. For this, the Bundeswehr must be better equipped and receive an armed drone, for example. And then it was again against his strongest competitor for the Chancellery. “But Olaf Scholz has been refusing for months because he is afraid of the left in his own party,” he said, referring to a procurement plan by the Ministry of Defense.

In the meantime, Laschet was self-critical and admitted mistakes in the election campaign. “Of course not everything went well, we know ourselves,” said the CDU boss. In the final spurt of the election campaign, however, it is not a question of who has the “smarter appearance”, because “we also know that things are now on the go”.

“We also know that many, many are undecided these days. We also know that many will be looking to the Triell tomorrow, ”emphasized Laschet. The Union must use the next two weeks until the election to explain to those who hesitated, who said, “You haven’t done that so hard in the last few weeks”, that the “core issues” are now going on.

The Union had to explain to the people that when choosing a chancellor, it was a question of who stood for the right course at the crucial moments in German history. The CDU and CSU stand for the right European course. And with this intention, “I want to become Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,” said Laschet.

More: How Armin Laschet can still become chancellor

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