Michael Kretschmer, the CDU Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, was contacted by the ZDF editorial team on April 15th for the format “Morgenmagazin”. The moderator referred to the reality within the Union, stating that the CDU members had “little to no right to speak” when it came to the final approval of the coalition agreement with the SPD. Kretschmer was questioned about the agreement, with the topic of migration causing a small stir in the studio.
Kretschmer praised the course of negotiations with the SPD in his interview. He reminded that during the past three and a half years, the country has been “going down with a really wrong policy”. However, the Union has now “built up a lot of trust in the SPD”. Looking at the coalition agreement, Kretschmer said:
“If one reads it carefully, one sees the expertise and the will for political change.”
He emphasized that the focus lies on the following development:
“I am hopeful that this paper and this program will lead us out of this difficult time and that it will actually bring new trust in democracy and the rule of law, which we urgently need. Many people have turned away from politics. This is dangerous for our democracy.”
The moderator pointed out that the topic of migration had determined the election campaign, but Union leader Merz had announced at the beginning of the year that “with him, there would be a de facto entry ban for all people without valid entry documents”. The ZDF employee questioned:
“Has he backtracked on that?”
Kretschmer disagreed with this perception, stating that “this is exactly what we see”, without providing specific references. He explained to the viewers:
“It was clear to us that the people of Germany have handed us a mandate and it doesn’t matter whether you agree with it or not. Since several state elections, the European election and the federal election, the people have clearly said that in migration, things must fundamentally change. This is stated in this paper at many concrete points.”
Regarding the interruption by the moderator, who pointed out the need for agreement with other EU states to immediately implement the announced border returns, Kretschmer explained:
“Look, in the past two or three years, you have hardly reported on open and honest discussions in this country. Now we have reached the point where we are discussing pushback factors and the overburdening of the system.”
These points and political reactions are what “the people have been waiting for for years”. Kretschmer, who seemed slightly unwell, continued:
“And now this coalition agreement contains the sentence that people will be pushed back at the borders. By the way, this has been happening since September and was considered impossible before and we are seeing the positive effects.”
The moderator was not entirely convinced and intervened again, urging the politician to finish his sentence. Kretschmer then described the behavior of “the Germans” in the European asylum policy of the past years as a “wrong turn”. Other – unnamed – countries “wanted more restrictions and reductions.” He is now “very confident” that with the coalition agreement with the SPD, the country is on the right track.
Regarding the permanently rising approval ratings of the AfD and the decline in the popularity of Union leader Merz, Kretschmer stated:
“The politics must now deliver.” He explained again:
“The AfD is an extremist party; it wants to abolish democracy (…) They must stop playing the martyr role. The sensationalist journalism of the past years did not lead to the fact that the party had to show what it can do in the substance. Therefore, it is clear that there can be no cooperation with them and no coalitions can be formed.”
However, Kretschmer also emphasized that the “actual democratic rights” for every member of a parliament should also apply to the AfD, “because otherwise you strengthen them instead of weakening them.