In the final pre-election plenary session of the Bundestag, the top candidates for the chancellorship clashed in a sharp exchange of words. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) accused Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz of wanting to “bury Europe” to which Merz responded that the current federal government is receiving more criticism and disdain in Brussels than ever before. SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil described Merz’s speech as “nonsense” and compared the CDU chief to an “uncle who thinks he knows everything better.” Klingbeil even went so far as to say that the only friends Merz has left in the parliament are the AfD.
Green party leader Robert Habeck warned against losing sight of climate protection. The Union and FDP had already called into question the climate goals, “out of fear of the hard work of labor” Habeck said. This, however, was fatal in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. “If Europe collapses, it’s over with global climate protection” the minister said. The economic policy plans of the Union were not suitable for making the industry future-proof. Instead, the program of CDU and CSU was only a “repetition of the 1980s” Habeck said.
FDP leader Christian Lindner accused Scholz of playing the people in Ukraine against the pensioners in Germany in the election campaign. The government coalition had only failed to overcome the economic crisis, said the former finance minister. The chancellor was misjudging the situation. Scholz had proven that there were “parallel universes” Lindner said.
AfD leader Alice Weidel said that Red-Green had “failed.” But even Merz couldn’t do anything else, as he couldn’t fulfill his promises, Weidel said. The members of the Greens had “never worked here in the Bundestag.” They “had never worked.” “Go to work, find a job” she shouted at the Green faction. Weidel also advocated for a radical reduction of the public sector and a withdrawal from the euro.
Left party leader Heidi Reichinnek called for the abolition of the value-added tax on basic foodstuffs. This should be financed through tax reforms, especially for billionaires, she said. She also spoke out in favor of a nationwide rent cap and the legalization of abortions. BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht warned against the stationing of US missiles in Germany and further arms racing.
At the end of the debate, former SPD general secretary Kevin Kühnert, who had not spoken publicly since his resignation in early October, spoke up for taking responsibility for German history. He criticized a “shift in the debate.” The CDU’s departure from Michel Friedmann in protest against the party’s joint vote with the AfD could have prevented the current situation, Kühnert said. However, CDU chief Merz now simply ignored the critics within his own ranks.