The scene is all the more embarrassing as it manages one of the two regions most affected by the disaster, North Rhine-Westphalia. Armin Laschet, the favorite candidate for succession to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was forced to apologize on Saturday after being filmed hilariously during a visit to victims of recent floods in the country.
The one who is also leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), Merkel’s party, for the legislative elections of September 26, was struck with hilarity during a tribute speech, delivered by the President of the Republic Franck-Walter Steinmeier. Located behind the head of state, we see him in the images laughing for almost 30 seconds, with six people accompanying him. The two men were on the move in the town of Erftstadt, which was particularly devastated by the floods. At least 165 people, including 141 in Germany, have died in Europe in floods of a rare magnitude, caused by torrential rains in the west of the continent.
A second meatball in a week
“Outrageous”, “disgusting” … The video, immortalized by the local television channel WDR, was shared several hundred times on Twitter on Saturday, provoking the ire of social democratic politicians, partners of the conservatives in the government of coalition of Angela Merkel, and many Internet users. “I am simply speechless,” said Lars Klingbeil, general secretary of the social democratic party SPD, on Twitter. “A question of character,” noted with cynicism another SPD official, Kevin Kühnert. Residents of the region also shared their anger: “I grew up in Erfstadt (…) The behavior of our (regional) president is unacceptable and unforgivable”, tweeted one of them, Olav Waschkies.
Faced with the controversy, Armin Laschet apologized on Saturday evening on Twitter: “I regret the impression that a conversation gave. It was inappropriate and I’m sorry about that, ”he said. The candidate is not his first “bad buzz” during the bad weather: Thursday, he aroused incomprehension after having arrested a journalist using the term “young woman” on the regional channel WDR. A term considered paternalistic and sexist by many Internet users.
The CDU leads the polls
This new controversy falls in the middle of the electoral campaign. The conservative CDU party still remains at the top of the voting intentions for the legislative elections, which must name a successor to Angela Merkel, in power since 2005. The conservatives are at 30%, ahead of the candidate of the Greens, Annalena Baerbock at 20%, and Olaf Scholz, SPD candidate (Social Democrat) at 15%, according to a poll published earlier this week by the ZDF channel.
Annalena Baerbock, once at the top of voting intentions two months ago, herself subsequently fell in the polls after a series of blunders.