The federal election will take place on February 23rd and the intensive campaign phase has begun. In surveys, the CDU continues to lead by a large margin over the AfD, while the FDP around Christian Lindner and the BSW have to worry about entering parliament.
You can read all the events of the federal election campaign in our live ticker:
8:02 p.m. – Merz asserts: I am not working with the AfD
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has confirmed that his party does not want to work with the AfD after the federal election. The AfD is not the alternative for Germany, it is certain relegation for the country, said the Union’s candidate for chancellor in Flensburg at the CDU’s election campaign launch in Schleswig-Holstein. “And that’s why there won’t be this collaboration.”
The AfD does not believe the same as the CDU. “Do you seriously believe that I am working with someone who says publicly that my goal is the destruction of the CDU, the exit from the monetary union, from NATO, the exit from the European Union? No!”
7:40 p.m. – Alice Weidel can imagine Musk or Theo Müller in government
AfD leader Alice Weidel can also imagine the integration of the super-rich into a government in Germany, as is the case with tech billionaire Elon Musk in the USA. In response to a corresponding question in the RTL “Candidate Check” she said: “I believe that it would be good for political operations if significantly more people with economic policy expertise and, above all, successful entrepreneurs brought in their expertise so that there would be a significantly better economic policy orientation , that’s absolutely necessary.” Accordingly, she can “very, very” well imagine an Elon Musk, a Peter Thiel (Paypal founder) “and of course someone like Theo Müller” in a government. The dairy entrepreneur Müller called Weidel “a friend” in an NZZ interview. She comes to visit more often. Weidel herself describes her party on RTL as “conservative-liberal”. There is nothing “radical or extreme” in the program.
6:12 p.m. – “Election campaign rhetoric”: Baerbock reacts to Scholz’s accusation of lies
Olaf Scholz has sharpened the tone in the dispute over additional billions in aid to Ukraine and accused his political competitors of lying. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is now warning Scholz against exploiting the issue in the election campaign. She wanted to “say in all seriousness that the times are too challenging, that Germany has too great a responsibility for us all to fall into election campaign rhetoric in the next few weeks,” said the Green politician at a meeting with her Lithuanian colleague Budry’s in Berlin.
Everyone in the government had given their word to neighboring European countries that they would stand by Ukraine as long as it needed Germany and that Germany would stand by its Eastern European partners. “That’s why it’s important that we continue to implement exactly that, especially in difficult moments,” demanded Baerbock.
3:23 p.m. – “The German people are being lied to with the greatest intensity at the moment,” says Scholz
In the dispute over Ukraine aid, Scholz sharpened the tone again and accused his opponents of lying. “I have the feeling that I’m saying this so openly here: At the moment the German people are being lied to with the greatest intensity and great caution,” he said at the “Ask the Top Candidates” event organized by the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” in Frankfurt am Main.
When asked who was lying to the people, the SPD candidate for chancellor added: “Of all those who try to exclude one question: How do we pay for it.” That applies to the politicians who did it, but also to them everyone else who didn’t want to discuss it.
10:28 a.m. – Left campaigners threatened
Left-wing campaigners were threatened on Sunday in Dresden. The Dresden police department said on Sunday evening that eight young men between the ages of 15 and 19 apparently approached a left-wing youth information stand in the city center. They threatened and insulted the stand operators. The investigators were able to locate the suspects.
According to the police, the woman and the four men between the ages of 16 and 25 from the left-wing youth group remained uninjured. A table at the stand was damaged. The suspects were apparently Dynamo Dresden football fans and had come from a home game. The state security agency is investigating threats, insults and damage to property.
7:11 a.m. – SPD Minister Lange recommends that Esken avoid talk shows
Brandenburg’s SPD Interior Minister Katrin Lange (SPD) recommends that SPD leader Saskia Esken avoid talk shows. In the “Tagesspiegel” she renewed this demand, with which she had already made headlines nationwide before the Brandenburg state elections in autumn 2024. “I said that a lot would be gained if certain people basically stopped taking part in talk shows. That is still true,” said Lange, who is also the SPD’s deputy state chairwoman. The reason for this was statements made by Esken after the Solingen attack.
3:05 a.m. – Commission criticizes AfD election campaign video in Brandenburg
The AfD in Brandenburg must either delete a video published on social media from the 2024 state election campaign or use technical means to prevent children and young people from having access to it. This was decided by the Commission for Youth Media Protection (KJM) of the state media authorities.
The clip therefore contains “development-impairing content” that serves “blanket stereotypes”. Children and young people under the age of 16 would not be able to classify them and should therefore not see them.
-In the video, people with dark skin are generally shown in threatening depictions, said the director of the Berlin-Brandenburg Media Authority (MABB), Eva Flecken.
1:20 a.m. – “Friedrich Merz clearly stands for the equal participation of women and men,” explains CDU vice-president Karin Prien
CDU Vice President Karin Prien considers the low popularity of Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz among women to be unjustified. In an interview with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” she said: “This is certainly not least due to the campaign of our political competitors, who specifically want to portray him as someone who is less supportive of the interests of women.” But that does not correspond to reality.
“Friedrich Merz clearly stands for the equal participation of women and men,” said Prien. This is shown, for example, by the introduction of the women’s quota in the CDU under his leadership. Prien called on women not to let external impressions or campaigns guide their voting decisions.
Monday, January 20th
8:53 p.m. – Campaign workers attacked in Berlin, helpers in Dresden threatened
According to police reports, several campaign workers were attacked or threatened in Berlin and Dresden over the weekend. In Berlin, a 54-year-old was attacked in the Friedrichshain district at midday while driving a car loaded with election posters. Accordingly, the man stopped at a red light when an unknown person appeared on the passenger side, insulted the driver and damaged the passenger window by throwing a small paving stone. According to police, the suspect was able to escape, but the 54-year-old was uninjured. The state security took over the further investigation.
In Dresden in the afternoon, the operators of an information stand for the Left Youth Association were threatened and insulted. According to the police, eight young men between the ages of 15 and 19 apparently approached the information stand and threatened and insulted the five operators of the stand. The latter, a woman and four men between the ages of 16 and 25, were uninjured. A table at the information stand was damaged. Police officers were able to locate the suspects a short time later; they were fans of Dynamo Dresden. The state security agency is investigating charges of threats, insults and damage to property.
5:27 p.m. – Election posters in Wismar smeared with Nazi symbols
Unknown people have smeared Nazi symbols on several election posters and a traffic sign in Wismar. According to their own information, the police found seven election posters from the CDU, the Left, the FDP and Volt in the Dargetzow district, on which swastikas and SS runes were painted in black paint. The police received a tip from a witness that night. However, an immediate search was unsuccessful.
3:55 p.m. – Merz sets conditions for coalition partners
Friedrich Merz has set clear conditions for possible coalition partners after the federal election. If the Union were to lead the government, partners would definitely have to accept the storage of IP addresses for law enforcement. “We will not go into government without the police, the public prosecutors and the courts in Germany being given all the instruments that are necessary to make criminal success possible,” added the CDU leader.
2:30 p.m. – Habeck should rather write children’s books, says Lindner
A renewed collaboration with Robert Habeck is out of the question for Christian Lindner in the next cabinet. Friedrich Merz said he was open to the Greens as economics minister in his cabinet, criticized Lindner. “I can say for myself: I am not open to Robert Habeck being able to continue his work of destruction,” emphasized the former Federal Finance Minister. He will soon be a father, said Lindner. In this respect, he has nothing against it if Habeck instead continues to work in his original job as a children’s book author.
12:09 p.m. – Söder wants to see the Greens in opposition
CSU leader Markus Söder has underlined his rejection of a black-green coalition after a possible election victory for the Union. “If at all possible, the Greens should go into opposition,” says Söder. He had “a fundamental problem” with the Greens, whom he accused of taking the wrong course in economic or migration policy. “Under no circumstances do I want a Robert Habeck Economics Minister for Germany anymore,” he says.
11:13 a.m. – Merz wants to send Trump a personal letter on Monday
Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz is trying to maintain a good relationship with the future US President Donald Trump. “He will receive a handwritten letter from me next Monday for the inauguration,” said the CDU leader in a “Zeit” podcast. In addition, Merz says he already consults regularly with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who knows Trump well and is respected by him.
10:08 a.m. – According to Klingbeil, Habeck didn’t pay enough attention to the economic crisis
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has accused Green Economics Minister Robert Habeck of not paying enough attention to the economy and instead writing a book. “Despite all the personal appreciation I have for Robert Habeck, I am astonished these days that someone who should actually spend 24 hours thinking about how to save the economy finds time to then write a book,” said Klingbeil in “Bild am Sonntag”.
Swiss
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