Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet does not always seem confident when talking to citizens and journalists.
Now Laschet has met an unemployed woman - and worked up a sweat.
Lübeck - A job-looking woman described her fate to Armin Laschet on ARD - and brought the Union Chancellor candidate into an explanation problem.
"I have a question about the long-term unemployed, especially women aged 50 and over," she said on the September 15th “Wahlarena” broadcast.
"What worries me a lot is that they won't find a job."
Since then, she has successfully completed several advanced training courses and exams.
“I have been applying almost every day since then.” Without success so far.
“People want to work - but what are their options?
What is politics doing? “, The woman, who lives in Essen (North Rhine-Westphalia), urgently addresses Laschet.
"Wahlarena" (ARD): The long-term unemployed has a question for Armin Laschet
The CDU chief looks dismayed. “What did you do in the company?” He asks. There she worked as an office clerk, in the meantime you have completed further training in financial accounting with the IHK grade "very good", as well as further training in personnel management, payroll accounting and English. "I would now like to take my trainer aptitude test at the end of the year - what I am missing is a job that is subject to social security contributions so that I can help people who are in my situation."
NDR editor-in-chief Andreas Cichowicz, who leads through the live broadcast with WDR editor-in-chief Ellen Ehni, asks Laschet to respond at this point.
He clears his throat: "So thank you for describing this so openly," he turns to the woman.
Her case shows that it is wrong to assume that unemployed people do not want to work.
“For a long time we had the problem that people say we really only want to hire younger people and no longer employ older ones.
From my point of view, this is actually a mistake from employers.
Because you have so much experience with you that you would certainly be an asset to any company, ”continues Laschet.
Election campaign in the ARD broadcast: Laschet asks for the telephone number of the questioner
Then he gets tangled.
“I think a lot of people have listened - if a smart employer were there, they would hire you!” Sometimes employers told him that they would not find suitable employees.
“And then I usually say: 'That can't be.'” The Union election platform does not mention Laschet in relation to the problem.
He asks Cichowicz to write down the woman's phone number: "And if someone tells me again that I can't find anyone ..." - then Laschet apparently wants to mediate.
“We have to bring more older people back to work,” affirmed the CDU politician, before moving on to the next questioner after a good three minutes.
Like the Greens' Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock and SPD applicant Olaf Scholz before, Laschet only answered questions from viewers in the 75-minute program.
Bundestag election: Union politicians want to oblige the long-term unemployed to do charitable work
At the beginning of September, politicians from the Union and Free Voters proposed that the long-term unemployed should be obliged to do community service.
He was thinking of a regulation for people "who receive benefits from the state and are not ready to integrate into the labor market," said the CDU chairman of Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze, of the
Bild
newspaper.
According to this, the unemployed could sweep leaves or collect rubbish, for example.
The main thing is to "facilitate the reintegration of the long-term unemployed into working life," said Berlin's CDU parliamentary group leader Burkard Dregger of the
picture
. The
CSU
internal expert Michael Kuffer hopes for the unemployed "appreciation and a personal relationship with our community". There was also encouragement for the idea from the chairman of the Free Voters, Hubert Aiwanger
The SPD and the Left Party clearly criticized the plans. "The need of the Union must be great if it sees the way out of the survey low in hitting the poorest of the poor," said Left Federal Managing Director Jörg Schindler. “That is perfidious and without decency.” “There are people talking who have no idea about labor market policy, but who, in view of their sad surveys, appeal to dull feelings,” said SPD parliamentary deputy Katja Mast.
(frs with material from AFP)
