Status: 18/08/2023, 18:56 p.m.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) speaks during an election campaign appearance on Munich's Marienplatz. © Peter Kneffel/dpa
The police contingent at the start of the election campaign of the SPD in Bavaria was large. Chancellor Scholz was not deterred by loud criticism in Munich - and took the opportunity for a frontal counterattack.
Munich - Accompanied by applause but also boos and whistles, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended the policy of the federal government against constant criticism from the right on Munich's Marienplatz.
"Yes, the right-wing populists are bad for prosperity. They stand for a bleak future and that's why they're always in such a bad mood. That's the reason," said the SPD politician in the afternoon in his speech at an election campaign event of the Bavarian SPD. But the future is bright, democratic and free. "It consists of a country where we are different, but we like to live together."
Addressing the AfD and the "lateral thinkers present," he emphasized: "So democracy and freedom is that you can say that you can't say your opinion."
Irritated mood in the city centre
The mood in Munich's city centre was already very irritable long before the start of the election campaign event. This took place under great security conditions. Right at the start, Scholz had defended the Ukraine policy, including the arms deliveries: It was right that Germany and many other states supported a country against an imperialist attack. "This also means that we supply weapons." This will be carefully examined and this also includes ensuring that there is no escalation between Russia and NATO.
Addressing the opponents of the war, Scholz said that telling the Ukrainians that they should simply let their country be conquered has nothing to do with love of peace. Anyone who walks around the square as a dove of peace is a "fallen angel from hell" who speaks to the warmonger Putin.
Criticism of energy and Ukraine policy
Scholz had recently had to listen to whistles and criticism at public appearances, such as this week in Frankfurt or in Neuruppin, Brandenburg. Here, too, the criticism is directed against energy and climate policy as well as arms deliveries to Ukraine, among other things. In Munich, however, Scholz's microphone was so loud that the whistles and shouts could hardly penetrate to the stage. The critics had chanted "warmongers", "failures" and "liars", among other things, and on their posters they also accused the government of "climate lies".
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Scholz's venue, Marienplatz, has not been a good place for chancellors' election campaign appointments in the recent past. Angela Merkel (CDU) was greeted here in 2019 at the closing event of the CSU in the Bundestag election campaign by a shrill whistling concert. As a result, her speech almost went unnoticed, although the microphone of the then chancellor was turned louder. At that time, the initiators were supporters of the AfD and Pegida.
About six weeks before the state elections in Bavaria, the SPD, which is in a bad position in the polls, wanted to open its election campaign with Scholz. In his speech, SPD top candidate Florian von Brunn attacked the state government's policies in particular and accused the CSU and Free Voters of lacking concepts for the challenges. He described the AfD as right-wing extremists.
Polls: SPD in Bavaria at 9 to 11 percent
The Bavarian SPD is currently languishing between 9 and 11 percent in polls and urgently needs a change of mood if it wants to achieve its election goal of at least 15 percent of the vote. However, many party members in Bavaria clearly attribute the poor poll results to the policies of the SPD-led federal government.
At the start of the event, which was followed by several thousand people, Bavaria's SPD co-chairman Ronja Endres had expressly pointed out that disturbances with drums or whistles were prohibited, as was the carrying of weapons.
In the run-up to the SPD's election campaign appearance, the right-wing scene had already called on its supporters to take counter-events in the city centre. According to a spokesman for the police, the AfD has registered a meeting at the Stachus, among other places. According to reports, lateral thinkers are also on the move not far from Marienplatz. The police had therefore set up barricades on Marienplatz and carried out strict security checks in the areas in front of the stage. More than 200 police officers were deployed. Dpa