Linken-Chefin Ines Schwerdtner considers the Union’s separation from her party since the day of the Chancellor election as settled. “We have congratulated Friedrich Merz on Tuesday and given him the message that he will still need us” she said in an interview with “ntv.de”.
Although there has not yet been a direct conversation with Merz, who was elected as the Federal Chancellor in the second round on Tuesday, “the incompatibility decision of the CDU is in fact history since Tuesday.”
This decision was “pretty outdated” and had already been bypassed on a regional level for a long time. “But I understand that there is an ideological obstacle for Merz” said Schwerdtner. “He has already broken two central promises from the campaign by introducing the debt brake and the special fund and now he should also negotiate with the Left. That’s a bit too much for the CDU.”
Schwerdtner is willing to engage in further negotiations with the Union. “Nobody in our party wants to negotiate with Friedrich Merz” she said. “But we will talk to all democratic parties if necessary. For example, to bring about a reform of the debt brake.”
She will not rest until the debt brake is reformed because the municipalities and the states urgently need money. “If we can help the municipalities, then I will sit down with the ‘class enemy’ at a table” said Schwerdtner.
In response to the question of whether Merz is the “class enemy” she said, “Yes, already. I mean, the man worked at Blackrock. It’s hard to imagine someone like that becoming Chancellor.”