Maischberger. Die Woche (ARD): Who is the mole in the Union?

Is there still a chance for a coalition of CDU, Greens and FDP? This is what the guests discuss at Sandra Maischberger’s.

Berlin – At the start of the “weekly overview” at Sandra Maischberger (ARD), none of the invited commentators really believe in a bright future for CDU party chairman Armin Laschet. The cabaret artist Florian Schroeder, the Deutschlandradio correspondent Katharina Hamberger and the business journalist Rainer Hank all agree that the currently more likely traffic light coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP would mean the end of Laschet’s career.

In an interview with the former Greens chairman Cem Özdemir and the North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), who was briefly involved from Düsseldorf, Sandra Maischberger asked about the background to the government soundings. Özdemir does not classify the disappointing election result of the Union of CDU and CSU as the sole mistake of the Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet, but as a “total work of art” of all those involved. After sixteen years of Angela Merkel a change is announced. The fact that Özdemir subsequently speaks of “Ms. Laschet” appears either as a Freudian or an intentional slip of the tongue.

Maischberger. Die Woche (ARD): Cem Özdemir speaks of “Frau Laschet”

Furthermore, the Green politician Özdemir warned the “reliability” of the CDU interlocutors as an inhibiting factor, after all, the contents of the exploratory round with the FDP and the Greens were pierced to the Bild newspaper. When Maischberger asked who could be the “mole” in the CDU / CSU, Herbert Reul replied: Definitely someone who puts “his own interests and his career plans” over shaping the future of Germany. Reul prefers to talk about content and breaks a lance for Laschet, whom he sees as a “trustworthy” man for a Jamaica coalition of CDU / CSU, FDP and the Greens.

“We do not hold any public coalition talks,” replies Cem Özdemir when asked by Maischberger where the Greens’ red line lies – or whether the party wants to govern at any price. Özdemir does not want to see political compromises “denounced” and sees a good chance in this, to form a “beautiful story” together with the SPD and the FDP, in which everyone stands as a winner – for example an ecological market economy that relies on modernization. “I want a modern country,” says Özdemir, who works for “Maischberger. Die Woche (ARD) “makes a clear, to a certain extent urbane appearance.

Maischberger. Die Woche (ARD): Quo vadis, CDU?

In the interim conversation with the commentators, Sandra Maischberger wants to hear assessments of the contradicting Union statements of the day: Where Armin Laschet made hope for a Jamaica coalition, the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder wrote off Jamaica and Laschet. The journalist Katharina Hamberger sees the “memorable” press conferences as a “symptom of the state of the Union” and suspects that someone in the CDU wants to prevent a Jamaica coalition. Rainer Hank sees Söder’s teasing as a continuation of his swipes in the election campaign. And the cabaret artist Florian Schroeder sees the “historically unique option” after Merkel’s departure as a great danger “that the CDU will split up.”

Another topic of the week were the investigatively revealed “Pandora Papers” on the tax evasion of numerous top politicians. Schroeder is annoyed and sees the tax tricks as an “anti-social mess”, Hank points out that many of the tricks are legal, although not legitimate. Hamberger hopes for a political reaction to the revelations when the new government is in place, after all, the “tax haven defense law” applies.

Maischberger. Die Woche (ARD): When does Corona end?

The final debate between Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and KBV chairman Andreas Gassen is about the possible progression of the corona pandemic. “Many think this thing is over,” explains Sandra Maischberger and shows Lauterbach the photo of his parliamentary group that went viral, in which he is the only one of 206 members to wear a nose cover.

Lauterbach weighs down and expects a “difficult autumn and winter”. There would be an increase in the number of corona cases: “We will get a fourth wave, which is not without it.” Andreas Gassen sees the situation as more relaxed. In the photo quoted, he does not see any error on the part of the SPD parliamentary group – instead, he considers the corona regulations to be in need of revision.

Maischberger. Die Woche (ARD): Karl Lauterbach sees Facebook as a source of false information

The vaccination rate is “not that bad,” says Gassen, and the skeptical rest are difficult to convince. Therefore, the doctor advocates a “Freedom Day” with a lead time of six to eight weeks, i.e. a day on which all corona measures should fall. Where Gassen sees the state’s duty of care at the end, Lauterbach warns that unvaccinated people who underestimate a Covid disease should not “run into the open knife”. Lauterbach sees “lack of education” as a possible reason for some skepticism about vaccinations; The frequent twitterer also names Facebook as a source of false information.

+

In principle, Lauterbach and Gassen differ when it comes to assessing the danger of the coronavirus. Gassen sees mortality as not as high as initially feared (“It’s not Ebola”) and, to Lauterbach’s chagrin, cites the controversial health scientist John Ioannidis from the USA. Lauterbach warns against Long Covid in children when it comes to masking requirements in schools, Gassen sees children under the age of 12 as not affected and refers to the lack of evidence of Long Covid symptoms.

When Sandra Maischberger wanted to know the parameters at which the pandemic was over, Karl Lauterbach called a vaccination rate of 85 percent for the total population as an “absolute minimum”. In order to achieve this, he wants to enforce 2G regulations, which Andreas Gassen also classifies as “safer” medically, but as hardly socially acceptable. It remains to be seen whether Karl Lauterbach can become Minister of Health with his eternally admonishing Corona course. Maischberger’s final question in this regard is obviously very flattering to the politician. (Christian Horn)