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“Shaking the Foundations”
Habeck doesn’t think sticking to Aiwanger is a good idea
09/03/2023, 1:35 p.m
In Munich there was no major shock and Minister of Economics Aiwanger was in office. In Berlin, the SPD and the Greens find clear words for the fact that they consider the decision to be wrong.
In political Berlin, the decision by Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder to continue working with his deputy Hubert Aiwanger has met with criticism. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck told the dpa: “Possibly getting lost as a young person is one thing, making yourself a victim as a responsible politician and shaking the democratic foundations because of the staging is another.” Against this background, Söder’s decision was “unfortunately not a good one,” said the Green politician. “It’s not about the youthful sins of his coalition partner, but ultimately about the basic consensus of this republic, which every federal and state government must fully protect.”
Despite all the differences in the matter, the CSU has always seen itself as a state-supporting party of the center that upholds the basic consensus of this republic, according to Habeck. “Part of it is that remembering the Holocaust is central and we mustn’t relativize it. But that’s exactly what Mr. Aiwanger did and portrayed himself as a victim.” Federal Family Minister and Green party colleague Lisa Paus said in an interview with ntv that it was a fatal sign for Söder that, given Aiwanger’s handling of the allegations, he simply thought “he can go on with the agenda”.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the editorial network Germany (RND): “Mr. Söder did not decide out of attitude and responsibility, but out of simple power calculations.” However, dealing with anti-Semitism should not be a tactical question. Aiwanger “neither apologized convincingly nor was he able to clear up the allegations convincingly,” said Faeser. “Instead, he declares himself a victim in an unspeakable way – and doesn’t think for a second of those who still suffer massively from anti-Semitism today.” The SPD politician added: “This is how borders are shifting that must not be shifted.” The fact that Söder allows this “damages the reputation of our country”.
Green boss Omid Nouripour told the “Spiegel”: “It’s not about 17-year-old Hubert, but about 52-year-old Aiwanger and how he deals with his own past.” This approach is now being rewarded by Söder, “because tactics are more important to him than attitude”. Nouripour added that it was “indecent and bad for Bayern” and “bad for Germany”.
Bad crisis management
Söder had said in a statement on the affair about an anti-Semitic leaflet in the morning that a dismissal would not be proportionate in the “overall assessment”. In a long conversation the night before, Aiwanger assured him that he had not written the leaflet. He also apologized and showed remorse. However, he criticized Aiwanger’s crisis management.
The President of the State Parliament, Ilse Aigner, also agreed. “The Prime Minister’s decision is correct – a dismissal would have been disproportionate. I would have liked Hubert Aiwanger to have much better crisis communication,” said the CSU politician after Söder’s decision. “Timely, clear, honest statements – even if the suspicion was reported so thinly – and a faster distancing from this disgusting pamphlet would not have led to this unspeakable impasse, which harmed Bayern overall.”
Aigner also said: “His statements on democracy in the run-up to the leaflet affair were not exactly helpful for a classification of what happened 36 years ago.” Aiwanger said at a rally in Erding in June that the silent majority had to “take back democracy”.
A new state parliament will be elected in Bavaria on October 8th. The CSU and Free Voters have always stated that they want to continue their coalition after the election. In his statement, Söder emphasized that he would continue to do so. “We will be able to continue the middle-class coalition in Bavaria,” said Söder in Munich.