Thursday December 30th 2021
Faux pas in the federal election campaign
That’s why Laschet laughed in the flood area
The fact that he smirks and jokes at a press conference in the flood area in the summer costs Armin Laschet dearly. The former candidate for chancellor and CDU boss has to accept a setback in the federal election in September. Now it becomes known what he was so deliciously amused about back then.
The pictures of the laughing CDU chancellor candidate Armin Laschet caused a lot of excitement in the recent federal election. A media report now reveals what Laschet allegedly amused himself about during a joint visit with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the areas that were badly affected by the flood disaster.
When Steinmeier gave a short address to media representatives, Laschet waited apart in a group of companions and CDU politicians from the region. The scenery in the background of the Federal President was captured by several TV cameras. Laschet could therefore not understand what was being said. This is what participants reported to the editorial network Germany (RND) and the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” about the date on July 17, 2022 in Erftstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia.
According to the report, the cheerfulness in the group broke out when Laschet turned to the district administrator of the Rhein-Erft district, Frank Rock, who was standing next to him and jokingly criticized him for welcoming the Federal President. According to information from bystanders, Laschet teased Rock by saying that he only greeted the head of state with “Mr. Steinmeier” and not as “Mr. Federal President”. CDU politician Rock replied teasingly to Laschet that he was so surprised that Steinmeier “is also as small as you”.
In addition, the group around Laschet, and later Steinmeier as well, was amused by the fact that reporters, some of them bizarre, contorted themselves in order to hold their microphones close to the speakers without being in the picture of the cameramen. The recordings of Laschet’s laughter had sparked massive criticism and outrage. The polls of the CDU, which until then had led to the Sunday question, collapsed and did not recover. Laschet and Rock immediately apologized and spoke of a mistake.