AMPEL: "Ridiculous and embarrassing" CDU General Secretary Linnemann criticizes the budget debate

Then everything is fine, I would like to talk about this with the CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, who is now connected to me. Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Linnemann. Are you as confident as Habeck and Scholz that a new budget will actually be in place by the end of the week ? Hello Ms. Würzbach, I find this all really ridiculous. That's just embarrassing and of course, as an opposition politician, I'm happy when they argue and we come up with a better proposal. But I can't keep up with it anymore : one day a minister kicks you out and in the afternoon the other minister from the same federal government says it doesn't work that way. I've now gotten into the habit of waiting three or four days and if the suggestion still stands, then I'll get in touch. So to answer your question: This whole debate is ridiculous. They should pull themselves together and make politics for this country. And with so much tax revenue, the 5 billion will probably come from somewhere. Yes, you are already talking about something, the amount that you still have to raise is not that large in comparison. What is particularly striking at the moment is the FDP, which has a lot of proposals where, to be honest, it is often clear that this simply cannot be done with this coalition. Do you have the feeling that the Liberals are simply preparing for a time after the traffic lights? Yes, that's very noticeable, isn't it? Well, I think it's totally okay if the liberals come and throw a punch and start a debate. The party also has to be noticed. But they do it like that every day now and that's why I have the feeling that they want to provoke, that they don't want to go out themselves, but then want to be thrown out and then say afterwards: Well, dear voters, now you have that Word. But again: This is not my beer. We are concentrating on the CDU in Germany, we are using all the time, are strongly positioned, have a new program, are moving forward with full confidence and are well positioned and ready for new elections at any time. Your Union was also the topic today when FDP General Secretary Djir-Sarai was in our studio. He had said that the Ministry of Development would be abolished. That didn't work in 2019 because the Union didn't want it. What do you think of this plan that is being discussed again today? So basically, I think debates about the structure of departments and not building up this ministerial bureaucracy any further are right. Personally, I would rather look at the Ministry of Construction. They had a goal of building 400,000 new housing units, and maybe they did 200,000, 220,000 this year. So it was a complete disaster. But overall, I don't want to close myself off from the debate. We will come up with our own proposal in the election program, but to hold a debate about how we can streamline this entire apparatus so that more and more ministerial bureaucracy is not created - I can only support my colleague on this matter. I would like to take a look with you at the state elections that are coming up soon in the east, with a view to Saxony and Thuringia. According to a Forsa survey, 55% of CDU party members can imagine working with the AfD. Is there a rethink in your party? Actually, there is a party conference resolution that spoke out against such a coalition. Exactly, no, there is no rethinking at all. In 2018 in Hamburg there was a clear decision, unanimously by the way, that there is no cooperation with this party and everyone knows that. And we act accordingly. I don't know the background of this study. Of course there are at the local level - you saw this in Backnang last year, for example, which is Ricarda Lang's constituency, where the Greens also voted in a theater with the AfD. You have cases here and there, and that applies to all parties. You have to see how you deal with it. But for Germany's CDU it is clear: no cooperation with the AfD. But now you have to say that especially under For the East German members the number is even higher, 68%, and we are still a bit stuck looking for reasons. After all, the AfD is considered right-wing extremist in both federal states, and forming a coalition can be extremely difficult. Do you already have a plan? Well, I'm in Saxony right now. Things are going extremely well here. I don't see the "extremely difficult" thing you say here. You see the poll numbers and you have a Prime Minister with Michael Kretschmer. He not only does it well, but is a “just do it” type of person. Five years ago he promised to hire more police officers - and he did. Five years ago he promised to hire more employees in daycare centers - he did. He promised to abolish school fees in health professions - he did. So he just does it and is a top guy. And that's why we're all about winning and nothing else. Do you notice that federal issues will determine these state elections or are they really not an issue at all? If we look at both traffic light politics and your opposition work, what is really important to the people there? Yes, that is a very, very good question. So, I'm asked about the topic of citizens' money very often here. So what we want here is a change in mentality so that those who perform are rewarded for it. What goes against the grain here - but throughout Germany - is the fact that the state is increasingly influencing the everyday lives of normal people. They don't want to be told which heater or engine they have to buy, they just want to live their lives, and the state has to provide the framework. And third: They want a functioning state. When you pay taxes, you simply want the state to function - from migration to Deutsche Bahn. And those are some of the main topics that I hear here, yes, in relation to the federal level. Carsten Linnemann, thank you very much for these insights and we are looking forward to the next time you can comment on the budget, if you always want to give the whole thing a few days now, given all the arguments at the traffic lights. Thanks. That's it, Ms. Würzbach. On that note, goodbye.