Baerbock as Chancellor candidate: Robert Habeck is annoyed

Robert Habeck speaks with Sandra Maischberger in the ARD talk about Annalena Baerbock, the Greens and the climate. Before that, Hubert Aiwanger is on the defensive.

Berlin – In Sandra Maischberger’s “weekly overview” on ARD, as usual, the debates of the week were run through, whereby a weakness of the concept became particularly clear in this program: In the rapid treatment of current issues, there is often only room for repetition of positions , not for new arguments.

Guests at the ARD talk with Sandra Maischberger were this time:

ARD talk “Maischberger”: Hubert Aiwanger and the compulsory vaccination

In the opening round with the moderator Amelie Fried, the deputy world editor-in-chief Robin Alexander and the publisher Wolfram Weimer, the compulsory vaccination was discussed. It was particularly about the statements of the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger, who was voted “Loser of the Week” by Fried due to his refusal to vaccinate. Aiwanger was supposed to express himself about the public indignation that broke out as a result of his statement and was switched to the studio for this purpose.

The free voter politician insisted on the self-determination of the individual, but could not be persuaded by Maischberger to provide reasons for his position and the decision not to get himself vaccinated, even when asked for the third time. Aiwanger cited the fear that his arguments could be publicly “torn to pieces” as the reason. To refuse any explanation therefore seemed like an absurd defense of what should be at the center of political activity: the argumentative conviction of the other.

ARD talk “Maischberger”: Hubert Aiwanger on the defensive

Wolfram Weimer then explained why he sees Aiwanger’s advance primarily as an electoral maneuver. The Free Voters, which Markus Söder preferred to the Greens in the last state elections, have grown in strength not only in Bavaria, but also in other federal states, and have attracted voters from around the Union. With regard to the federal election in 2021, such polarizing statements should be understood as sharpening the profile of a party that is looking at the 5 percent hurdle.

Robin Alexander, who described the Free Voters as a party for those conservatives who “don’t feel like CSU feeling”, once again highlighted the contradictions in this matter, as Aiwanger supported the strict corona measures of the CSU-led government while he was reject them at the same moment.

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Sandra Maischberger speaks to Robert Habeck in the ARD Talk

In the following one-to-one conversation with Sandra Maischberger, Robert Habeck, contrary to his earlier statements, emphasized his conviction that a sufficient vaccination rate could not be achieved through coercion, but as a “solidarity effort”. But the moderator quickly turned to the question, which had been discussed in the last few months to the point of exhaustion, whether the decision in favor of Annalena Baerbock as candidate for chancellor was the right one.

Habeck, who was clearly annoyed by the debate, let himself be carried away with a short laugh at the mention of the polarizing Green politician Boris Palmer. The clip with the statements of the mayor of Tübingen about Habeck’s qualities as chancellor managed to get a slight smile from him before he clearly stated: “If I’m not a candidate for chancellor, I can’t go into the chancellor’s office.”

Olaf Scholz is named “Winner of the Week” by Maischberger (ARD)

Finally, it was about content, namely the “energy money” proposed by the Greens, which is intended to offset the costs caused by stricter climate protection measures, as well as the competencies of the newly introduced climate protection ministry, which is to receive far-reaching veto rights with regard to bills. Habeck was relieved to finally be able to talk about the concrete objectives of his party and defended the program confidently against Maischberger’s objections.

Robin Alexander named Olaf Scholz as the “winner of the week”, who was in good shape between the scandals at the CDU and the Greens and who could even be forgiven for being in the SPD. While Wolfram Weimar also saw the “clearest communication” and “the fewest mistakes” in the SPD, Amelie Fried contradicted this positive assessment by pointing out that Scholz carried ballast with him as long as his role in the Wirecard events was not fully clarified.

Hape Kerkeling at Maischberger (ARD): “Being on TV every 12 minutes is too much”

With the play-in of an old gag about Angela Merkel, Maischberger made a makeshift transition from political issues to a conversation with Hape Kerkeling, who was allowed to present his new cat book. Here the show got completely out of step, because while the social events of the week before were touched on in a quick pass, there was excess airtime to fill up towards the end and Maischberger lost himself in detailed inquiries about the individual career stations of Kerkeling, which have long been well known .

When Kerkeling was asked about his assessment of various politicians, he said about Karl Lauterbach’s media presence: “To be on television every 12 minutes is too much”. In a television landscape full of often superficial talk formats, in which topics are too often dealt with rather than in-depth, it may take a lot of appearances to gain time for content and arguments. (Jendrik Walendy)