Government without Laschet? Baerbock gives coalition notice: "Let's not rule out"

Annalena Baerbock holds the federal government accountable for the Afghanistan policy - and speaks about the election campaign.

A coalition with the left?

Not excluded.

Cologne - What does green politics cost, Ms. Baerbock?

Jan Hofer dealt with this question on Monday evening in his new RTL program "RTL Direkt".

The former “Tagesschau” spokesman had Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock * as a guest.

In addition to the election campaign for the upcoming federal election *, the worsening situation in Afghanistan also played a role in the approximately 20-minute program.

Afghanistan: Baerbock criticizes the German government - "That was announced"

“What annoys me is that it was announced,” says Baerbock, referring to the conquest of Afghanistan by the Taliban, and criticizes the current German government.

The 40-year-old is particularly annoyed by a rejected application by the Greens for a group procedure for the “generous admission of Afghan local staff.” The CDU MP Roderich Kiesewetter admitted a “big and serious mistake” on Twitter: It was wrong in June to reject the application.

Kiesewetter let it be known that the “no” was made “on principle”.

In the course of the current situation, Baerbock demanded “to get people out immediately. That was the big mistake in the last few days. There were civilian actors who wanted to fly people out, but the federal government refused. ”When asked whether politicians should resign due to the current failings of the grand coalition, the Green candidate replied more defensively:“ At this moment, it's about human lives to save, but we have to analyze it carefully. ”Specifically:“ What went wrong? How can foreign ministers not react when they receive warnings? ”Questions that should only be clarified in the future, because“ now we have to take care of the people and it is not an election campaign. ”Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) admitted to this already made a mistake on Monday: "There's nothing to gloss over that."

Annalena Baerbock: "In the last few weeks, not everything went smoothly for us either"

And in this election campaign, the Greens still have a lot to do to ensure that there is government responsibility or even the appointment of Chancellor.

“Everything is still there,” says Baerbock.

This election is more exciting than ever, "because several parties are tied." In the current polls *, the CDU / CSU is in first place.

However, the lead over the SPD and the Greens is melting.

Still, the Greens did not reach the polls high from a few months ago - "because not everything has gone smoothly for us in the past few weeks."

After the election on September 26th, there may be exciting coalition relationships.

When asked whether the Greens would also form a coalition with the Left Party, Baerbock initially replied evasively: “I am promoting that we as Greens become as strong as possible.” At least when Hofer asked, she no longer ruled out negotiations: “I think that is important Democratic parties do not rule out talks in advance ”.

A red-red-green alliance therefore seems possible.

Left parliamentary group co-leader Dietmar Bartsch had recently signaled his willingness to do so.

However, it is unclear who will then be the Chancellor.

SPD candidate Olaf Scholz * had recently recorded strong increases in the polls * and was partly ahead of Baerbock and the Greens.

Bundestag election: Baerbock wants to "change some course in politics"

Climate protection remains a traditionally green topic this year as well. Hofer confronted Baerbock with the price question. What does green politics cost? "I would like to arrange it in such a way that it is affordable for everyone," replied the candidate for chancellor in a somewhat general manner. In order for this to succeed, one must “change some course in politics”. How? “Through a strong social policy”, for example, means increasing the minimum wage to 12 euros per hour, as the SPD is also calling for.

With the new news program “RTL Direkt”, the private broadcaster RTL will henceforth be in direct competition with the public service “Tagesthemen”. The new format runs Mondays to Thursdays at 10:15 pm, in other words in the competition on the “topics of the day” in the first. Hofer was the chief spokesman for the “Tagesschau” until last December. At “RTL Direkt” he alternates with Pinar Atalay, who was “Tagesthemen” presenter from 2014 until this year. She switched to RTL this month.