Thuringia election near Lanz
“I am team Thuringia and Voigt”
By Marko Schlichting
April 3, 2024, 5:00 a.m
Almost six months before the state elections in Thuringia, CDU top candidate Mario Voigt spoke to Markus Lanz in favor of a German coalition in his state. But he could also imagine working with the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance.
A new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia in September. According to surveys, the AfD and its top candidate Björn Höcke are clearly ahead. The CDU takes second place, followed by the Left. If it were possible to elect the Prime Minister directly, Bodo Ramelow would have the best chance. In the ZDF talk show Markus Lanz, CDU top candidate Mario Voigt said on Tuesday evening what goals he and the CDU are pursuing.
One thing is clear: Voigt wants to become Prime Minister. “I’m team Thuringia and Voigt,” he answers the question about his election campaign. He rules out a coalition with the AfD and the Left. His party could win the state elections “by dedicating ourselves to the problems of Thuringians.” There is a lot of frustration, a lot of anger and a lot of anger among the people in his country, says Voigt, and a desire for change. What he wants: “Run a proper election campaign that makes one thing clear above all: that it is about the strongest force in Thuringia.”
Voigt wants to focus on an election campaign that focuses on issues that are important to people. This also worked in Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin before, says Voigt. “Because people have the impression that they only talk about coalitions, but not about the real problems that really play a role in life.”
Of course, Voigt knows that he has to forge a coalition if he wants to take over the government in Thuringia. The CDU politician is relying on a German coalition. To achieve this, however, the CDU and SPD would have to make significant gains, he says. Voigt can also imagine a coalition with the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance, although their performance in the Thuringia elections is completely uncertain. But: “There is a top candidate, that is the mayor of Eisenach, who has a relatively good background. Everything I hear there in the areas of migration policy or economic policy, I have the impression that there is more of a sense of reality in it than with them Left or some parts of the Greens. That’s why I first look at what they want programmatically. I won’t rule it out,” says Voigt.
More teachers for Thuringia
The problems faced by people in Thuringia are diverse: “Life has become expensive and more complicated. In Thuringia, every tenth lesson is now canceled. That annoys people.” Voigt wants to change a lot, especially in the education sector: “I would give a job guarantee to anyone who passes the second state examination in teaching in Thuringia. That means they can become a teacher immediately. This is an urgent issue for us. Then I would take care of that that there is a reading, writing and arithmetic guarantee, so after the fourth grade someone has to finish primary school in Thuringia if they can read, calculate and write. I would go here and clarify how we can recruit teachers more quickly, so that Teacher standing in front of the class.”
Voigt would also fight to ensure that fewer young people leave school without a qualification. “Because what does a state have to be there for? A state has to be there for infrastructure, a state has to be there for security, and it has to be there for proper education policy. That’s what people want.” Things must move forward again in Thuringia. That’s what the people wanted, but also the companies based in Thuringia, adds Voigt. There will also be a noticeable shortage of skilled workers in Thuringia in the foreseeable future. That is why Voigt speaks out in favor of immigration of foreign workers.
But there lies the problem. Because that is exactly what cannot be done with the AfD. “It stigmatizes people who actually have concerns,” criticizes Voigt. His aim, however, is to express people’s concerns.
Conflict with AfD
Next week, Voigt will publicly argue with AfD state leader Björn Höcke in a television duel for the first time. There was a lot of criticism of the decision in advance. The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, advised his party colleague against the meeting. With the debate, he is offering the AfD right wing a public platform.
Voigt sees it differently: “I try to teach my children to tackle the problems directly. And if the AfD is the strongest force in my home country, then I deal with Höcke and his ideas in terms of content,” he says.
The deputy editor-in-chief of ZEIT, Martin Machowecz, is torn between the discussion as to whether he should feel sorry for Voigt before this appointment or admire Voigt for his courage. “If you manage to confront Höcke in this discussion, you will garner a lot of respect. But if you don’t manage it, then I don’t want to be in your shoes,” he told Voigt. But he also emphasizes that there is still no “real key for dealing with the AfD”.
Above all, he wishes Voigt peace and quiet for the time after the discussion. “I think we all deserve to find calm in such discussions.”