Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has denied allegations of making derogatory comments about Berlin’s Culture Senator, Joe Chialo of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), at a birthday party. According to a report by the magazine “Focus” Scholz is said to have referred to CDU politicians as ” Hofnarren” ( court jesters) at the celebration.
The magazine “Focus” whose editor-in-chief, Georg Meck, was also present at the party, reported that Scholz also accused his CDU challenger, Friedrich Merz, of playing falsely and allegedly pushed the Union close to fascism.
Scholz wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, “The term I used is not racistsly connoted in the language and was never intended that way by me.” He also stated, “The raised charge of racism is absurd and artificially constructed. I personally appreciate Joe Chialo as an important liberal voice within the Union.”
Scholz claimed the conversation at the private birthday party, which took place ten days ago, revolved around the joint voting behavior of CDU/CSU and AfD in the German Bundestag. “I described this as a taboo-breaker in the conversation” he wrote.
Furthermore, the conversation centered on the question of whether this could be repeated and who within the CDU would openly address this taboo-breaker. “Upon being told that there are also liberal voices within the CDU, I responded that only very few liberal voices within the CDU have spoken out against the behavior of the CDU chairman and have expressed criticism” Scholz stated.
Berlin entrepreneur Harald Christ, whose birthday party the scene allegedly took place at, defended Scholz, saying, “I know Olaf Scholz well and good enough to say that it’s absurd to put the Chancellor in a corner as a racist.” Christ stated he was not present during the conversation, as reported.
He criticized the reporting on the incident, as it does not adhere to the agreed-upon rules. “The prerequisite for an evening where people can openly discuss with each other is that personal conversations are not reported publicly. This was important to me in these polarized times to create a protected space for controversial discussions” Christ said, adding that he mentioned this in his welcome speech.
CDU Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz criticized Scholz sharply, saying, “I wonder if this Chancellor is ever in a position to admit he said something wrong and perhaps even apologize for it.” Merz stated, “This is the Chancellor who always demands respect. Apparently, only for himself. And what he then said does not make the situation better.”
Junge Union leader Johannes Winkel (CDU) suggested Scholz’s resignation, saying, “If the Chancellor cannot behave, then he must resign before the new election.