A former Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and a former CDU chancellor candidate, Armin Laschet, is campaigning with the deputy leader of the FDP, Johannes Vogel, for a black-yellow coalition after the federal election on February 23.
In a guest article for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Tuesday’s edition), the two politicians write that Germany needs “clear circumstances and a policy” that truly solves the pressing questions in an uncertain world. “The best way to achieve this would be a black-yellow coalition.”
In reference to the rise of the AfD and the BSW, the article continues, this would be the best way to close the gaps and solve the country’s problems. “Without foam at the mouth, without chasing after any narratives – but instead, oriented at the issue and with understanding. And, above all, with a genuine upswing that gives the country a new direction forward.”
If this fails and another coalition without the power to change things precedes, a wave in 2029 could threaten to undermine the “foundation of our country, as we know it.” “We can observe this at our Austrian neighbors. Such circumstances must be prevented.”
Only the CDU and the FDP could provide a similar answer to the major economic policy questions of the day, the authors write: “We must finally relieve the hardworking people in our country. Those who want to move forward through their own effort and hard work must be able to reap the benefits – and they must not be denied respect in our country. We need tempo and freedom for entrepreneurs. Neither high taxes nor bureaucratic hurdles should stand in the way of them.”
Laschet and Vogel hold, despite the current opinion polls, which show the CDU and FDP together only between 34 and 36 percent, a majority of the CDU and FDP for possible: “A fact is: a black-yellow majority in the German Bundestag is only a few percentage points away – and opinion polls are volatile. Together, we have experienced this at the 2017 state election in North Rhine-Westphalia, where we managed to oust the red-green government of Minister-President Hannelore Kraft (SPD) with a narrow majority.