SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch defended the criticism of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) against Union faction leader Friedrich Merz (CDU). “Friedrich Merz has claimed things that were completely beneath the belt” Miersch said in the RTL and ntv program “Frühstart” on Tuesday. The accusations by Merz were “completely baseless”. “In that sense, that’s a northern German riposte that I consider appropriate” he said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) went on a confrontational course with CDU Chief Friedrich Merz after the lost confidence vote in the Bundestag. When asked about a supposed anecdote that Merz shared before the confidence vote in the Bundestag, Scholz told the ZDF “Heute-Journal” on Monday evening: “Fritze Merz likes to spin yarns.”
Merz claimed in the Bundestag that Scholz had only sat there during a European Council meeting and said nothing. In response to a question from another colleague, he allegedly replied with “Well, you didn’t say anything either.”
Miersch is not bothered by the Chancellor’s word choice. “Yes, because it’s simply straightforward nonsense” the General Secretary said to RTL and ntv. “Olaf Scholz has held Europe together in the last three years in very difficult times. He has closely coordinated with President Biden, for instance, when it came to the Russian war of aggression, and still is” Miersch said. “And in that sense, that’s simply baseless.