Friedrich Merz landing on Sylt: The pictures of the CDU leader from the wedding of Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) caused ridicule and criticism. In an interview, Merz now defended his “old dream”.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz defended his arrival by private plane to the wedding of Finance Minister Christian Lindner. He doesn’t regret having come by plane, said Merz on Sunday in the ZDF “summer interview”. “To put it in a nutshell: I use less fuel with this small plane than any member of the federal government’s company car. And that’s why I fly.” He mainly uses his plane for professional purposes. “I stand by it and it’s an old dream of mine, if you will. Always has been.”
The pictures of Merz and his wife Charlotte made headlines in early July. The CDU leader drove the machine himself to Sylt, where FDP leader Lindner and political reporter Franca Lehfeldt got married.
Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) replied on Twitter on Sunday evening. As a member of the federal government addressed by Friedrich Merz, he allowed himself a quick fact check: “My company car is an electric car and therefore does not consume any fuel at all. Neither does my bike, ”wrote Özdemir and posted a wink smiley.
In the interview about reducing energy consumption in Germany, Merz also spoke out against a speed limit. “The speed limit is a symbolic issue,” said Merz. “We would not solve the problems either ecologically or in terms of traffic.” The CDU had “a very clear common position” on the subject.
Even if there are isolated advocates of a speed limit in the CDU who want to introduce a speed limit, he “didn’t think so,” said Merz. That would not solve the country’s problems. There are “perhaps three percent of the routes on which there is no speed limit in Germany”.
When asked whether the speed limit could serve as a bargaining chip within a larger debate about saving energy and energy security, Merz said: “If the federal government wants to talk to us, seriously, which it is not doing at the moment”, the CDU is “anytime ready”. However, this cannot be done according to the previously practiced motto “bird eat or die”, said Merz. “That’s not a way of dealing with it and we will be very tough with our positions.”
Merz again distanced himself from statements made by the Saxon Prime Minister and CDU Vice President Michael Kretschmer on the sanctions against Russia. “With Michael Kretschmer, we have a prime minister in our ranks who sees things differently from the Saxon perspective, but that’s not the opinion of the Union either,” said Merz on Sunday in the ZDF “summer interview”. Kretschmer declared on Tuesday that Germany must mediate in the war between Russia and Ukraine and ensure that “this war is frozen”. Russian raw materials are still needed.
Merz emphasized that there is no east-west divide when it comes to sanctions. Kretschmer is not the only Prime Minister in the East. “He’s not the only one, and all the other prime ministers in East Germany have a different opinion, and so does the CDU.”
Alternatives to Russian oil would have to be found for the refinery in Schwedt, Brandenburg, which supplies practically all of East Germany, said Merz. “It is very clear that we have a national interest in ensuring that the supply is maintained. We discuss the way, but not the goal.”
East Germany is particularly affected by the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and by the European oil embargo against Russia because the Schwedt refineries in Brandenburg and Leuna in Saxony-Anhalt have for decades obtained Russian oil via the “Druschba” pipeline.
