Björn Höcke vs. Mario Voigt
From “quantum leap” to “pure neo-Nazi ideology” – the reactions to the TV duel
Watch the video: Clear rejection from Voigt – Höcke with gaps in memory in heated TV duel.
Video source: n-tv
Even before the TV duel between the Thuringian AfD leader Björn Höcke and his CDU competitor Mario Voigt was broadcast, there was sharp criticism of the channel WeltTV. After the debate, the reactions are different.
The top candidates of the AfD and CDU for the state elections in Thuringia have fought a heated TV duel. There was criticism of the debate between the fascist Björn Höcke and Mario Voigt even before the broadcast: Voigt would allow himself to be exploited by a right-wing extremist in order to gain more fame himself. One day after the exchange of blows, there remains a mixed picture of the performance of the two top candidates.
This is how the press commented on the duel between Björn Höcke and Mario Voigt
Online time: “What Welt-TV and Mario Voigt have created here is a document. Everyone can now watch these 70 minutes in which Björn Höcke says so much nonsense that no one can claim that Björn Höcke doesn’t say any nonsense anymore. This nonsense is corrected to the right extent. Mario Voigt has shown that conservatism in particular is able to expose right-wing extremists – don’t sugarcoat the situation itself, and then: bam.”
The mirror: “Voigt did it well, decently and with commitment, perhaps even in the best possible way. He was recognizable in the training camp, armed with sheets of paper containing the brownest Höcke whispers of recent years. […] And yet people in the Höcke camp will be extremely satisfied with how this experiment went. Because the bottom line is that Höcke has gotten rid of all the central points of content. He was able to say that he was a particularly generous and empathetic person (no joke), and after this TV experiment he had a few more opportunities to portray himself as a supposed victim.”
Berlin newspaper: “This time, perhaps, such a portion of Fox News was good for the country: for the first time, positions that categorically exclude each other but are discussed by the population every day in bars, sports and shooting clubs, and in the workplace came together in a debate.
It was a bumpy duel in which the discussants defamed each other, interrupted each other and monologued. But it was also the necessary beginning of the conversation about why so many people in the country vote for the AfD – with one of the most radical politicians in this party. It remains to be seen whether this duel will benefit Mario Voigt in the state elections. What is certain, however, is that with this exchange of blows he started nothing less than a quantum leap in German debate culture.”
Editorial network Germany: “The exchange of blows between the Thuringian state politicians Mario Voigt and Björn Höcke was neither a breaking of a taboo nor a preliminary decision for the state elections in September. But it was a lively evening with an AfD right wing that was at times extremely defensive. Nobody should underestimate the effect of this TV duel ( or the upcoming state election). Fascism is not returning because of Mario Voigt and World TV. In the end, it’s about two state politicians who would like to be Prime Minister of a centrally located, rich in world heritage sites, scenically beautiful and historically highly complicated, but just also want to become a very small federal state.”
Reactions from politics
Carsten LinnemannCDU general secretary, told the Rheinische Post: “Mario Voigt showed this evening that he can be prime minister. Calm, competent and close to the people of Thuringia. His courageous course to provide content to the right-wing extremists has proven to be spot on.”
Maximilian KrahAfD leading candidate for the European elections on
Katharina König-PreussThuringian state parliament member, Die Linke, on X: “Pure neo-Nazi ideology at #TVDuel. In addition, anti-immigrant positionings that reinforce each other and contain racism. And no one classifies it or contradicts it. It’s pathetic that neither Voigt nor the moderators are a match for Höcke.”
Sources: Time online, The mirror, Berlin newspaper, Editorial network Germany, Rheinische Post