What’s going on in the East? Saxony’s CDU head of government Michael Kretschmer explains how he wants to defeat the AfD, why he doesn’t like the Greens and is angry at the traffic lights.
Mr. Kretschmer, are you already a “dead man walking” politically?
What should I be?
From the Hollywood film of the same name: a death row prisoner.
Do I look like that?
No. If you believe the surveys, you have every reason to be stressed. You and your coalition partners from the SPD and the Greens currently do not have a government majority.
In the last poll there was a majority for the government. However, I am convinced that few people constantly look at polls and ask: So, what kind of government are we making of this? Most people use the election results for this. That is also my goal.
There are three state elections in the fall, including yours in Saxony. In all three cases there is a risk of the AfD winning. You took office in 2017 with the aim of becoming Prime Minister of all Saxony. Did you fail with your claim?
We were able to form a workable government after the 2019 state elections. The past few years have been difficult due to the corona pandemic, energy crisis, recession and structural change. I am convinced that stable conditions have been good for this country and that you can see that in the numbers.
Why then, according to surveys, are only around 30 percent of Saxons convinced that their party has been good for the Free State?