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"Das Erste": Does the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt want to abolish the ARD main program?

2022-01-18T01:12:24.852Z


Minister of State Rainer Robra wants to abolish the station "Das Erste". The CDU in Saxony-Anhalt supports this, a newspaper reported. After the publication, the faction is now rowing back.


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The first as a "showcase of the regions" and the ZDF as a nationwide broadcaster?

The CDU parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt caused a stir with statements on Monday

Photo:

Marius Becker / dpa

A report in the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (MZ) caused a stir on social media and among politicians on Monday evening.

As the MZ reported, the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt has expressed thoughts on the future of the ARD capital program "Das Erste".

"We support Minister of State (Rainer) Robra's proposal to abolish the station 'Das Erste' as an independent channel in the long term," the newspaper quoted the parliamentary manager of the CDU parliamentary group, Markus Kurz.

He told the newspaper: "ZDF would remain as the national broadcaster." The closure of "the first" is a long-term vision.

»We know that we cannot implement this politically at the moment.

But that is our long-term goal.«

When asked by SPIEGEL, Kurz informed that the quote was shortened and the headline was "confusing".

The preliminary announcement was headlined: "Saxony-Anhalt's CDU wants to switch off 'Das Erste'".

A statement from the CDU parliamentary group later said: "There was never any talk of switching off the 'First' and it was never decided." 2017 and had been repeatedly renewed by him, Kurz had previously informed SPIEGEL when asked, and: "We have encouraged our Minister of State as a parliamentary group to pursue his proposal further in terms of media policy".

Robra himself could not initially be reached on request.

Robra caused a stir in 2017 when he described the Tagesschau as "superfluous in this form" in an MZ interview.

"The CDU Saxony-Anhalt is once again turning freely to the right"

Media portals and politicians took up the report in the evening.

The political federal director of the Greens, Michael Kellner, wrote on Twitter: "The CDU Saxony-Anhalt is once again turning freely to the right - an intact public broadcaster is a cornerstone of our democracy".

The then black-red-green government of Saxony-Anhalt was almost broken at the end of 2020 in a dispute about increasing the broadcasting fee.

The CDU strictly rejected the increase, but the coalition partners SPD and Greens wanted to support it.

In order to prevent the CDU parliamentary group from blocking the increase in the state parliament with the votes of the AfD, Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) had withdrawn the decision from the state parliament and thus ensured a veto by Saxony-Anhalt without the parliament having voted on it.

In August 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that an individual federal state cannot stop the decision to increase the license fee.

The public broadcasters ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio had lodged constitutional complaints.

The CDU now governs with SPD and FDP.

ngo/dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-01-18

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