Legends work – the older they are, the better they are. Ten years ago, in November 2013, Hannelore Kraft, the Social Democratic predecessor of today’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU), broke her collar. At the time, North Rhine-Westphalia’s state mother defended herself against rumors that she wanted to become the SPD’s candidate for chancellor: “Never, never,” she shouted to her comrades, would she switch to federal politics. Shortly afterwards, the misery of the decline began, which cost Kraft and the Reds power on the Rhine in 2017. Which is why the myth has been circulating there ever since: Anyone who shouts “Never” to Berlin will soon lose their position and dignity back home in Düsseldorf.
Why Prime Minister Wüst is so provocatively silent about Chancellor’s ambitions – opinion
