Sahra Wagenknecht is not averse to a speed limit. She brought 130 into play for “Maischberger” – to the astonishment of the presenter.
This clear announcement from Sahra Wagenknecht surprised Sandra Maischberger. Should there be a speed limit? the presenter asked on Tuesday evening. That would depend on the speed, said Wagenknecht. Then she made up her mind: “I think you can represent 130.” Maischberger was amazed. “130,” she repeated.
The guests
Cem Özdemir (Alliance 90/The Greens), Federal Minister of AgricultureRoni Romann, sister of a Hamas hostageSahra Wagenknecht, “Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht”Christoph Schwennicke, head of politics at t-onlineTheo Koll, long-time head of the ZDF capital studioKatharina Hamberger, Deutschlandfunk
The presenter tried to pin down some guidelines for Wagenknecht’s planned party on the talk show. After the speed limit, the member of the Bundestag revealed further agreement with the Greens with her “yes” for cannabis legalization. Wagenknecht rejected a ban on the AfD. Right-wing positions cannot be combated in this way: “We have to deal politically with the AfD.”
Wagenknecht wants to learn from the AfD
Wagenknecht objected to being described as right-wing extremist by former ZDF journalist Theo Koll on “Maischberger”. But in one respect she wants to learn from the AfD. Its founders probably wouldn’t be able to look each other in the face today, she said, given the major changes in the party that started out as a Euro-critical movement.
For this reason, Wagenknecht and her colleagues in the “Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht” want to carefully vet new members in order to keep “crackpots and extremists” out. Your planned party will therefore only accept members slowly: “I have to ask for your understanding.”
However, Wagenknecht reiterated his claim to steal votes from the established parties in 2024. “We are aiming to run in the state elections, of course,” she said on “Maischberger”. Wagenknecht announced that the party should bear her name at least during a “transitional period” – if only so that it can be found on ballot papers.
“Ms Wagenknecht is a political exception in Germany,” said Christoph Schwennicke in the commentary panel. However, the head of politics at t-online doubted whether this would be enough for solid party political success. The last two parties founded in Germany, the Greens and the AfD, were born out of issues. “This party was born from one person. And I think that has a much thinner base.”
Wagenknecht is particularly relying on her criticism of the federal government’s migration policy in order to win over many voters straight away. At “Maischberger” she repeated the demand to curb illegal migration. Agreements with safe third countries could help. However, more than a third of asylum applications currently come from Syrians. “Of course it’s no use using safe procedures in Rwanda. That’s a bit off topic.”
Criticism of Israel
Maischberger initially asked her guest about growing anti-Semitism and the war in the Gaza Strip. “We have the responsibility to defend Israel’s right to exist without any ifs and buts,” Wagenknecht made clear and underlined the commitment against any kind of anti-Semitism.
“No question at all. But of course that doesn’t mean that we have to approve of everything the Israeli government does,” she added. The “barbaric, Islamist” Hamas will probably be hit the least by Israel’s rocket attacks, while innocent children will be hit even harder. That fuels hatred.
Özdemir: “Gray Wolves” have contact with the CDU and SPD
Hatred against Israel and Jews is also spreading on German streets and in schools. “Not here, friends,” warned Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Alliance 90/The Greens). He made it clear: there should not be parallel societies. “Whoever comes to this country comes to the country of the constitution.”
In this context, Özdemir criticized the fact that the Turkish right-wing extremist “Ülkücü” (“Gray Wolves”) movement had not long been banned. Instead, the CDU and SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia put forward candidates “from these districts” in local elections: “We have to change that too.”
