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Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet: So far, only general comment on the CDU candidate Maaßen
Photo: THILO SCHMUELGEN / REUTERS
After the controversial statements of his party colleague Hans-Georg Maaßen, the pressure on Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet to take a position is growing.
"Armin Laschet's silence on this CDU candidate for the next federal election is unbearable," said Green Party leader Anton Hofreiter of the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung".
“Laschet is making grazing on the right-hand side acceptable within his party.
It's a dangerous game with fire. "
Maassen had caused outrage with a conversation at the TV Berlin station.
In it he assumed that there were connections between employees of the "Tagesschau" and the left and extreme left scene.
He also called for an attitude test for editors of the public service medium.
Laumann rejects party exclusion proceedings
“The statements were anything but wise. But everyone is their own fortune, "said the CDU deputy chairman Volker Bouffier on Monday when he arrived at the last regular consultations between the CDU leaders and party leader Laschet before the summer break. "But we shouldn't overestimate that."
When asked whether Laschet should take a position on Maaßen, the deputy head of the CDU and Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl said: “I don't think the federal chairman has to comment on that. There are many comments, and not everything has to be commented on. «Presidium member Karl-Josef Laumann said that Maassen was» very, very far to the right of the CDU «. "But so far everything he has done has certainly been such that it still fits the CDU spectrum." In his view, Maassen's statements would not justify a party exclusion procedure.
Bernd Althusmann, head of the Lower Saxony CDU, sees it differently.
In the “Tagesschau” he said: “If the fundamental values of the party for which he wants to move into the Bundestag mean nothing to Mr. Maaßen, he should look for another party”.
"For us, the freedom of the press is and will remain inviolable." However, there is still no statement from Chancellor candidate Laschet.
Before the scandal, Laschet only made general statements
"I will not comment on who is running in 299 constituencies," Laschet said in an RND interview when asked whether it would not be better if the CDU would credibly differentiate itself from Maassen.
However, the interview took place before the renewed outrage over Maassen's statements.
At the weekend, numerous politicians had already condemned the statements of the CDU far-right.
SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil spoke of a "further anti-democratic failure of CDU Bundestag candidate Hans-Georg Maassen".
On Monday, Klingbeil followed up in the »Tagesspiegel«.
The impression was slowly emerging that Maassen's behavior was not only tolerated by Laschet, but wanted.
The domestic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Konstantin Kuhle, called Maassen's statements "disturbing".
The parliamentary deputy of the Greens in the Bundestag, Konstantin von Notz, spoke of a "frontal attack on freedom of the press by a candidate of the CDU."
Maassen is rowing back
Maaßen had expressed himself again on Twitter after his interview statements on Sunday evening.
Independent journalism and politically independent public service broadcasting are essential for democracy.
»There must be no 'mind control' of journalistic work by politicians.«
The politician is running for the Bundestag in the election on September 26th for the CDU in a constituency in southern Thuringia, which also includes the city of Suhl.
He is controversial because of his stance on the federal government's refugee policy, among other things.
fek / dpa / AFP
