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Free voter leader Aiwanger: "It is a deliberate false claim that I had said that it was not proven whether vaccines work"
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STEFAN ZEITZ / imago images / Stefan Zeitz
In their dispute over corona vaccinations, Bavaria's Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) sharply rejected new criticism from Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU).
After Söder's ZDF summer interview on Sunday evening, Aiwanger accused Söder of making a “deliberate false claim”.
Söder had said in the interview that the question was not whether Aiwanger wanted to be vaccinated or not, everyone was free to do so.
But he is concerned with his claims about alleged side effects or the unproven effectiveness of vaccines.
"My concern is that he will maneuver himself into a corner from which he can no longer get out," said Söder.
If you go near unconventional thinkers, "then you have to be careful not to be identified as such," he said.
Otherwise it would "indeed be difficult".
"It is a deliberate false claim that I would have said that it has not been proven whether vaccines work," said Aiwanger of the German press agency.
"On the contrary, I said that vaccination is an important component in the fight against Corona, but it must remain voluntary."
"It is outrageous to want to label myself as a 'lateral thinker'"
In addition, Söder Aiwanger, who is the leading candidate for the Free Voters in the federal elections on September 26, warned against fishing for votes “on some edge”.
“That is a total fallacy.
In the end, people choose real 'lateral thinkers'. "
Aiwanger said: "It is outrageous to want to label me as a 'lateral thinker' because I am against compulsory vaccinations and demand more sensitivity when it comes to vaccinating under 12-year-olds, which Stiko has not yet recommended."
mjm / dpa