Sunday 18th July 2021
“Inappropriate and out of order”
Laschet is “annoyed” by his laughter
The Federal President wants to give consolation to the people in the flood disaster, in the background chancellor candidate Laschet laughs. The CDU chairman declares himself again for his dropout and suddenly becomes a climate fighter.
The Union Chancellor candidate and North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet once again expressed regret about his laughter during a speech by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the flood area. “I was out all day, there were emotional encounters that really shook me. And that’s why I’m all the more annoyed about these few seconds,” said the Union’s candidate for chancellor of the “Current Hour” on WDR television. “That was inappropriate, it’s not okay to laugh at a moment like this.”
Laschet came under fire when he laughed in the background on Saturday during a visit to Erftstadt, which was badly hit by the storm, during a speech by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He had already apologized for this on Twitter on Saturday evening.
Laschet told WDR that his visit to the disaster area had made it clear to him the importance of reacting faster and more consistently to the challenges of the climate crisis: “We have seen how vulnerable our nature is, how vulnerable we are as people who are part of this nature.” . The frequency and severity of such catastrophes are also a consequence of climate change, Laschet affirmed. “We have to fight it faster and more consistently here and around the world. The climate does not allow any delay.”
In addition, as a consequence of the flood disaster, he called for more precautions against extreme weather. “We have to build dams, retention basins, water reservoirs, renaturalize areas – protection not only on the Rhine, but also on the large and many small rivers all over the country,” said Laschet in a televised address on WDR. “In short: protecting nature, the environment, life and limb – effectively strengthening the immune system of our homeland so that we are better equipped against extreme weather conditions.”
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