Green party chair Franziska Brantner accuses TV stations ARD, ZDF, and RTL of influencing the election campaign by selecting a chancellor candidate duel without Robert Habeck’s influence. “The personal opinion poll ratings for our chancellor candidate Robert Habeck are so good that no one can predict the result on election day” Brantner told the Funke Media Group’s newspapers (Friday editions).
“One must value this as an intervention in this extremely short and equally open election campaign if the TV stations decide two months before the election to reduce the race in public perception to Friedrich Merz and Olaf Scholz” said the Green party chair. This duel is a format from the past, “with gentlemen who lead the debates from yesterday” she added. This does not reflect the direction of the decision that citizens can make now.
Brantner also reminded the Bundestag election campaign in 2021: “There, just a few months before the election, the SPD was far behind the CDU and Greens in the polls and was still invited to the TV triels” she said. A lot will still happen until February. The public broadcaster should depict debates that are actually taking place in the country. Friedrich Merz has openly shown a willingness to discuss with other chancellor candidates, Brantner said. “I wonder if Olaf Scholz has the same competitive spirit.