Status: 05/04/2022 11:46 p.m
Four days before the state elections in Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Günther (CDU) and his challengers Thomas Losse-Müller (SPD) and Monika Heinold (Greens) delivered a lively speech trill. NDR television invited everyone to the state parliament on Wednesday evening – for a direct exchange of blows.
The three top candidates conducted the discussion, moderated by NDR editor-in-chief Andreas Cichowicz and Julia Stein, head of politics and research at NDR Schleswig-Holstein, without sharp attacks. Whenever Thomas Losse-Müller attacked a bit more aggressively, Daniel Günther reacted calmly. Monika Heinold was aggressive in between, but mostly remained factual. The 75-minute debate on NDR television focused on important regional political issues such as transport, education, climate protection, the economy and social affairs.
The round was opened with a discussion of the war against Ukraine and the question of what Schleswig-Holstein can do as a state so that people do not have to fear the use of nuclear weapons. “The most important thing we can do at all levels is to show unity. Europe must stand together, NATO must stand together. In Schleswig-Holstein we can help to become independent of supplies from Russia. That is one of Schleswig-Holstein’s strengths – for example with the construction of an LNG terminal,” answers Daniel Günther.
SPD top candidate Thomas Losse-Müller emphasized that peace policy is always important. “We deliver weapons. The Chancellor is on the right course. We support Ukraine. But it has limits, we don’t want to become a war party,” he said. Monika Heinold explained that she wanted to strengthen the Greens’ foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock. “It is on a very good course. We can continue to work flat out in Schleswig-Holstein to become independent of gas and oil so that we are no longer dependent on Russia,” said the finance minister.
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Will prosperity decrease?
Does the war in Ukraine mean that people in Schleswig-Holstein have to forego their usual prosperity? Monika Heinold had a clear answer. “We will not have the situation that we had before the war. We will have to make sacrifices,” she said – and linked the topic to the energy transition. You have to take countermeasures now and build a future without fossil fuels, but with renewable energies.
Daniel Günther said: “Our goal as a politician must be to maintain the prosperity that we have in Germany.” Nevertheless, it is not possible in these times to guarantee people “that this crisis will pass by everyone completely without a trace”. It is the task of politics that this happens in a socially balanced way. He also supports the federal relief package on this point. Thomas Losse-Müller, on the other hand, said he was confident that the level of prosperity could be maintained. “For this it is important that we invest in renewable energies, that we make ourselves independent of Russian gas and Russian oil.”
Dispute on the subject of budgetary policy
In the last TV duel before the votes were cast on Sunday, all three politicians fought for the votes of undecided voters – and campaigned for their positions. This also applied to the issue of budgetary policy. Thomas Losse-Müller emphasized the need to invest heavily in climate protection and relieving parents of daycare fees. In normal years, 500 million euros are left over in the budget every year. Monika Heinold pointed out that the medium-term financial planning was missing EUR 200 million annually. She criticized the fiscal policy course of her former state secretary. Daniel Günther emphasized that it was necessary to strengthen the country’s economic power. This will also be possible with the planned settlements. Daniel Günther accused his challenger Thomas Losse-Müller of making unfulfillable promises.
Mobility and public transport – important issues for voters
The group of three also discussed the issue of mobility and the poor public transport connections in rural areas. “We want to have a whole new format for mobility in Schleswig-Holstein in the future – with an on-demand system where you can order a fixed timetable with an app and a mobility guarantee,” announced Monika Heinold for the Greens. Daniel Günther emphasized that public transport is not the quick solution to all traffic problems in Schleswig-Holstein. “There are certain traffic routes that will continue to be used individually in the future,” he said. If possible, this should then be done using electromobility and CO2-free drives.
The offer must be expanded because there is a lack of investment, said Thomas Losse-Müller. “The majority of Schleswig-Holsteiners will still be driving their cars in 2050.” But then it is important that there is electromobility. “That’s why the SPD is calling for a state infrastructure company that expands this charging infrastructure across the board so that not only people who have a house can afford electromobility, but really everyone.”
All for A20 further construction – only when?
On the subject of further construction of the A20, Daniel Günther said: “Within the framework of the planning rights that we have in Germany, it is not possible to build the A20 faster than by 2030.” Thomas Losse-Müller said the SPD would do everything to ensure that construction of the A20 continued. In this context, Monika Heinold emphasized that one also has responsibility for the environment. She is not a fan of new, large road construction projects, but sees that the west coast needs mobility.
Coalition preferences – who with whom?
An exciting question: Will a Jamaican coalition continue to govern or will a two-party alliance take the helm? According to the latest NDR survey, the previous Jamaican coalition would be history. Because it would already be enough for a two-party alliance of the CDU and the Greens. But a coalition of CDU and FDP would also have a narrow majority.
Members of the youth organizations of the parties of the CDU, SPD and Greens gathered in front of the Kieler Landeshaus.
Günther had already spoken out in advance for a continuation of the Jamaica coalition. “We want to continue Jamaica, the alliance has done Schleswig-Holstein good,” he said again in the TV trill. He is firmly convinced that this alliance will continue to do the country good over the next five years.
Monika Heinold is convinced that “an alliance is stable when all parties are needed”. It is important to her to have strong Greens in government responsibility. Climate protection, energy transition, species protection and social justice would be important negotiation points for possible exploratory talks. “The government did a good job because we were the engine in the government for modernity and the energy transition,” said the Green Party’s top candidate.
Mathematically possible according to the NDR survey, but politically unlikely would also be a grand coalition of CDU and SPD. For a traffic light from the SPD, Greens and FDP, however, it would not be enough at the moment. “Jamaica does not have an eye on social issues, social issues have no voice there. The CDU and FDP have abolished the rental price brake – with the consent of the Greens. The CDU and FDP no longer wanted the law on collective bargaining loyalty, we have not made any progress with digitization and climate protection . If we want to make progress, ‘keep it up’ is not an option,” said Thomas Losse-Müller, adding: “Social issues must start again.”
Losse-Müller: Prien left teachers alone when it came to digitization
When it comes to education, Thomas Losse-Müller reiterated his election promise to give eighth graders a tray. That is educational justice, he said. The CDU Education Minister Karin Prien has left the teachers alone with digitization, he accused the current government. Monika Heinold emphasized that digitization had not progressed as much as one would have liked, but that schools were connected to the Internet and 250 jobs were created for people who support teachers in digitization. Daniel Günther retaliated against challenger Thoams Losse-Müller and said: “When we took responsibility in Schleswig-Holstein, two schools in Schleswig-Holstein were connected to the fast Internet. Today there are 845 schools.”
Speaking times close together
Thomas Losse-Müller acknowledged the coalition’s lack of progress in expanding wind energy. “Nothing happened there.” There are no more wind turbines than in 2017. Daniel Günther countered that in 2021 Schleswig-Holstein had approved most of the systems in all federal states and had 200 megawatts of output more than the much larger Lower Saxony. “We’re making giant strides.” All three candidates agreed that climate protection had to be socially responsible.
The triel almost ended with a tie in speaking times: Daniel Günther (15:48 minutes) had spoken only 11 seconds longer than Thomas Losse-Müller (15:37) and 46 seconds than Monika Heinold (15:02) during the show.
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