Icon: enlarge
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz
Photo: Political Moments / imago images / Political-Moments
Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz called himself a "very good earner" on Twitter.
The finance minister and SPD candidate for chancellor reacted to criticism of a statement on Sunday evening in the ARD "report from Berlin".
Scholz had said in an interview there: "I earn quite well, I would not feel rich."
Numerous Internet users saw it differently.
Scholz, who - without bonuses - earns more than 15,000 euros a month, can certainly be described as rich, it said in comments.
The SPD politician wrote in the evening: "To clarify my point of view: As Vice Chancellor, I am one of the very good earners in our country - everyone can read how well."
And further: "And also that we want higher rates for very good earners. So for me too. Because it is fair. As a candidate for chancellor I stand for that."
At the end of August, Scholz had announced tax increases for higher earners in the event of an election victory.
Incidentally, Scholz is not alone in underestimating how much richer he is compared to the average citizen.
Researchers at the University of Hanover found in a survey in 2016 that "the respondents couldn't even come close to determining their position on the income scale".
The principle that applied most of the time was that others are always rich.
Icon: The mirror
kfr / dpa