The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Alexander Schweitzer of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has renewed his call for regulating large platforms such as X at the European level. The legal framework is already in place with the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), Schweitzer told the Welt newspaper. “We cannot give in and be small, just because public pressure from the US is growing and people like Musk, a multibillionaire and a political advisor to Trump, are pushing for less or no regulation” the SPD politician said.
Schweitzer also defended ARD and ZDF against criticism, stating that in some regions, the public broadcasters are “the only remaining media offer.” Therefore, the public broadcasting system “must be present on a high quality level with strong local reporting, not only in a few metropolises.” He considered these costs “an investment in democracy.”
Looking ahead to the federal election, Schweitzer questioned the suitability of CDU leader Friedrich Merz as a chancellor candidate. Merz is “remarkably inexperienced” Schweitzer said. Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD, on the other hand, has “nerves of steel” Schweitzer added. “There is no one who is more qualified to be in the running for chancellor than he is. No one is more experienced, no one has already achieved more for Germany than Scholz.