After the controversial speech by Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger (free voters) at the demonstration against the heating law last Saturday in Erding, the Greens are demanding that Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) be fired. “The verbal gaffes” are “absolutely incompatible with democratic principles,” said Katharina Schulze, leader of the Greens parliamentary group in the state parliament, on Tuesday. Her co-chairman Ludwig Hartmann spoke of “Trump methods” as “a disgrace to our democracy”.
The CSU and Free Voters had previously discussed the events at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “The topic was discussed in detail,” said Head of the State Chancellery Florian Herrmann (CSU) afterwards. Participants heard that Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had addressed the topic himself. It was made clear to Aiwanger that he had crossed a red line, the CSU said. There is talk of “plain text”.
In front of around 13,000 people in Erding, Aiwanger said that “the silent vast majority of this country” must take back democracy. He had criticized the federal government’s heating law. “I stand by this sentence,” said Aiwanger on Monday. “Just because an AfD member said something similar at some point doesn’t make it a taboo sentence for anyone else.” With this “left stitch” he does not let himself be muzzled.
In Free Voter circles, on the other hand, it is said that Aiwanger takes the criticism from the CSU and the media to heart and assumes that he will be more cautious in future. There is talk of a “storm in a teacup” and that cooperation between the two governing parties is not in danger because of Aiwanger’s speech. Söder himself emphasized that he wanted to continue the coalition.
Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also faces criticism because of his own participation in the rally in Erding. Both had used the rally, which was also attended by lateral thinkers and AfD supporters, to loudly attack the traffic light government in Berlin.