The parties position themselves for the Bundestag election. Follow all developments in the news blog.
The party exclusion proceedings against the left-wing politician and North Rhine-Westphalian top candidate for the federal election, Sahra Wagenknecht, requested by internal party critics, has begun. That said the state arbitration commission of the North Rhine-Westphalia left. The two existing motions to expel Wagenknecht from the party would be bundled in one proceeding. Previously, the mirror reported about it.
According to the information provided by the State Arbitration Commission, the procedure will be carried out in writing. The committee therefore expressly reserves the right “to switch to the procedure with an oral hearing at a later point in time if this proves to be necessary to clarify the matter or for legal reasons”.
Wagenknecht is a member of the NRW regional association. With her book “The Self-Righteous” she recently came under massive criticism, also from within her own ranks. In it, she accuses left-wing parties of having lost sight of social issues and alienating traditional low-income voters with gender, climate or organic food debates. She speaks of the “lifestyle left”. Even when she was nominated as NRW’s top candidate for the Bundestag, she had to face two opposing candidates because of the criticism of a battle vote for first place and received 61 percent.
The chairman and top candidate of the left, Janine Wissler, is against the expulsion of the former parliamentary group leader Wagenknecht. “In principle, I do not think it is right to clarify intra-party differences through exclusion procedures,” she said in a Phoenix interview the week before last. “Sahra Wagenknecht is the top candidate in North Rhine-Westphalia, and I am confident that this application for exclusion will not be approved”. The NRW state executive had previously stated that it was behind Wagenknecht. (29.06.2021)
Schäuble warns against influencing election campaigns from abroad
Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble fears attempts to exert influence from abroad on the upcoming election campaign and the formation of opinion for the Bundestag election. “The danger is relatively great,” said the CDU politician. “We know what can be done with fake news. And we know from the experience of recent elections in other countries that a real propaganda war is being waged here.” It is not always clear who the attacks are from. “And the usual suspects always reject the accusations – even if there are always relatively clear traces.”
Schäuble went on to say: “What specifically worries me is that there is a relatively large part of the population that is well integrated in itself, but – which is legitimate – gets some or most of its information from foreign media.” A medium like Russia Today is “obviously not a broadcaster that even comes close to complying with the principles of media freedom,” he said. The state of freedom of the press in other countries, in turn, influences voters in this country.
The President of the Bundestag admitted: “It is not easy to counteract this socially.” It is possible, however, that Russian-speaking influencers can make a difference in social networks and raise awareness of the dangers of manipulation and propaganda. “And then free democracy is not defenseless either.” Despite the desire for better cooperation between Russia and its President, this has to be conveyed “again and again”, said Schäuble. (28.06.2021)
Laschet wants an equal federal cabinet
Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet wants to set up the future cabinet on an equal footing in the event of a victory in the Bundestag election. “The cabinet that I intend to form should be made up of equal numbers of men and women,” emphasized the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister again on Wednesday in Düsseldorf. East and West should also be represented in the future cabinet – “not just North Rhine-Westphalia”. (28.06.2021)