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TV duel: CDU candidate Voigt warns about Höcke’s European policy
The TV duel between the top candidates for the state elections in Thuringia: Björn Höcke (AfD, l) and Mario Voigt (CDU). photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
In a nationally watched TV duel, the Thuringian CDU politician Mario Voigt and his AfD opponent Björn Höcke are discussing. When it comes to Europe, Voigt attacks his opponent.
Höcke, on the other hand, said that Germany had to leave the EU. The 52-year-old, on the other hand, called for a “loose alliance of European states”. Höcke criticized bureaucracy in the EU and high energy prices. The AfD is also for a common market and the protection of external borders. “Otherwise we need independence,” he said.
A debate about Europe and the EU was the starting point for the TV duel. In an interview, Voigt said that Höcke wanted to let Europe die – probably alluding to Höcke’s sentence “This EU must die so that the real Europe can live.” Höcke then threatened legal action on X (formerly Twitter), but then suggested settling the dispute in a dispute.
A new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia on September 1st. Voigt is the top candidate for the CDU, Höcke for the AfD, which is classified and monitored by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia as definitely right-wing extremist. In surveys, the AfD is clearly ahead in Thuringia, with the CDU in second place. Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) currently leads a red-red-green minority government. Ramelow is running again in the election.