Citizens’ dialogue with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The SPD politician is a guest in Lübeck in the evening and will answer questions from 150 citizens. The round of questions in the ticker protocol.
7:29 p.m .: The question and answer session is over. Scholz says goodbye with the words: “I promise there will be a sequel.” With that we say goodbye and thank you for reading along.
7:27 p.m .: The questioner does not let Scholz out of the number. He wants to know whether the extension to the Chancellery is really necessary. “An office costs two and a half million euros,” he calculates.
7:24 p.m .: What the government is planning to save money is asked. “I could answer that for three hours now,” says Scholz. The Elbphilharmonie taught him a lot, such as: “Don’t start building before you’ve finished planning”. And you shouldn’t keep changing plans, Scholz continued. Unfortunately, that did not happen when the Federal Chancellery was expanded.
7:22 p.m .: The youngest participant in the round asks Scholz what he wants to do about the shift to the right in Germany. “We have to make sure that it doesn’t become a danger,” Scholz replies. There are authorities for that. But it must also be seen as a common task.
7:20 p.m .: Scholz is asked if he has “nice words for Turkish citizens”. “Without you, we wouldn’t have our prosperity,” he replies.
7:17 p.m .: Now it’s about empty inner cities. Scholz is asked what he thinks of a vacancy fee. “Sceptical,” says the Chancellor. However, the revitalization of the inner cities is an important issue, there are subsidies that the cities and municipalities can access. “My wish is that everyone is creative,” said the Chancellor.
7:15 p.m .: Now it’s getting technical. The questioner wants to know whether labor market integration is also being reformed. “That’s part of it,” says Scholz about the planned reform of the labor market. “It should be a bit less bureaucratic.”
7:13 p.m .: Now the citizen’s money is asked. “Will Mr. Lindner support that?” Scholz is asked. The chancellor replies: “The coalition agreement states that we will do that. There are no signs that it would not be the case. ”So that means: He expects it to happen.
7:09 p.m .: A 23-year-old wants to know how the younger generation should pay pensions in the future. “Thank you for the question,” Scholz begins his answer with his most popular expression. “If you start working at 17 and then work until you’re 67, that’s 50 years in which you pay your contributions,” calculates the chancellor. Of course, not everyone works 50 years…
7:08 p.m .: Scholz also speaks in detail here. The questioner replies. “Mr. Scholz, that won’t work anymore.”
7:05 p.m .: A pensioner accuses Scholz that the increase in pensions does not arrive. “You end up on the rubbish of society,” he accuses him. Scholz disagrees and explains what his government has done to make the increase noticeable. The basic pension was also introduced. This is particularly important for many small pensions.
7:02 p.m .: Now it’s about obstetrics. The situation is sometimes catastrophic, says one of those affected. “We take the issue very seriously, as stated in the government program,” says Scholz.
7 p.m.: Now an employee of the university hospital asks – and wants to know why Olaf Scholz’s brother has increased the parking fees. The Chancellor does not want to comment on this. It was agreed not to comment on each other’s jobs, explains Scholz.
6:58 p.m .: Citizens’ income is also there to make the welfare state more social again. “I could go on for another half hour,” says Scholz, but also wants to answer other questions.
6:56 p.m .: Scholz listens carefully. “Of course I can’t answer the whole evening,” replies the SPD chancellor to the questioner’s long monologue. According to Scholz, the minimum wage is a great relief. One of the government’s plans is to keep the pension level at a high level, he continues.
6:53 p.m .: Social policy remains the subject of the questions. “It’s unacceptable that people can no longer make a living from the work they do by hand,” says one man. He accuses Scholz and the SPD of having torn apart the welfare state. “Do you also include the welfare state in your turn of the century?” he wants to know.
6:52 p.m .: “It’s true, the high prices are a big challenge,” said Scholz. That’s why he launched the “concerted action”. But you shouldn’t decide over the heads of the population.
6.50 p.m .: Now domestic politics again. “What do you want to do to maintain social peace in the country?” asks a man. Scholz agrees that the current crises are a danger. That is why it has now been decided to remedy the situation quickly, for example by building pipelines and extending the life of the coal-fired power plants.
6:49 p.m .: “We have to reach an understanding, that’s very difficult,” says Scholz when asked again.
6.45 p.m .: Now topic Israel. A questioner wants to know what the federal government is doing to secure a two-state solution. “We criticize the construction of settlements outside of the Israeli state,” says Scholz. At the same time, you have a very special duty towards the country. “The bitter reality also includes: There are many attacks against the state and its citizens.”
6.44 p.m .: The price increases are a challenge, but they are working on relief, Scholz makes clear to the lady. She is satisfied with the answer.
6.42 p.m .: Now topic Ukraine. A woman asks why 100 billion euros are being invested but small and medium-sized companies are forgetting. Scholz does not want to accept that. “It’s our duty to provide support here,” the Chancellor made clear. “Someone wants to steal a piece of land here, that cannot be tolerated.”
6:38 p.m .: Now it’s about Cum-Ex. Scholz reports on how much he has built up and expanded financial supervision.
6:36 p.m .: In the background, the demonstrators are still screaming. Sometimes you can hear “Merkel has to go”.
6.35 p.m .: Now another hard change of subject. A young man asks when there will be a European defense army. The Chancellor believes that that is not the issue at the moment. Rather, it is about cooperation between states.
6:31 p.m .: Now it’s about the train. “I find that I almost never arrive on time,” says an elderly lady. She wants to know what is being done about it. “It doesn’t happen overnight,” Scholz makes clear. But he spoke to Transport Minister Volker Wissing about it. “We still have our system a bit like it used to be, we have to expand it. But this is not a one or two year project. Much will take many. We want to get everything off the ground in this decade,” predicts Scholz.
6.30 p.m .: The second is: “Keep looking at what skills we need and then invite people from abroad”. That has always worked in the last few decades.
6:28 p.m .: Now an entrepreneur from Ratzeburg is asking. “How do we want to get the energy transition mastered if we have a shortage of skilled workers and a shortage of gas?” he asks. “Today we have an all-time high among the employed,” states Scholz. “But we have to do two things: First, make crafts more attractive for young people again. These are good jobs with good income.
6:26 p.m .: A nurse speaks again. She points out that the conditions for home care services are significantly worse, many would go bankrupt. “The topic has not been forgotten,” says the Federal Chancellor. “I take the urgency of my conversation with Karl Lauterbach with me.”
6:24 p.m .: Scholz is concerned with the topic: “We have to improve working conditions so that people stay in the job longer.” The questioner makes it clear that she can no longer practice her job because she could no longer stand it. “Something other than applause has to happen,” agrees Scholz.
6:21 p.m .: A nurse wants to know what Scholz says about the situation in nursing. “We urgently need to improve something,” says the Chancellor. Raising the minimum wage is good, but not good enough. The chancellor says that the collective bargaining that is now coming is a good thing.
6:19 p.m .: Now it’s about the transaction tax. A citizen wants to know why it hasn’t been introduced yet. He wants Scholz to answer “specifically”. “I would like to give a very specific answer,” says the Chancellor. “There is currently no legislative majority for it,” he clarifies. That probably means: It can’t be done with the FDP.
6:17 p.m .: A municipal employee asks how the federal government intends to remedy the shortage of skilled workers. Here, too, the chancellor can outline his intentions.
6:14 p.m .: Now a geriatric nurse speaks. He wants to know why parents with children are no longer relieved. Scholz routinely lists the instruments that his government has already implemented. But he had decided to “make the whole thing fairer”. The child protection is the corresponding project.
6.10 p.m .: The next questioner wants to know why taxes are still being deducted from the energy money. “That’s a pity, then you can keep it too.” Scholz explains what the intention is. “How do we get relief for as many people as possible as quickly as possible?”. The heating cost subsidy is also such an instrument. “People who earn a lot of money don’t actually need anything,” admits Scholz. But that could not be implemented bureaucratically so quickly, so the route via taxes was chosen. So people with high incomes paid more.
6:09 p.m .: In the background, demonstrators have been clamoring for minutes and disturbing the event somewhat. Apparently not everyone here is satisfied with the policies of the federal government.
6:07 p.m .: Now a student speaks. She asks how Scholz wants to protect students from rising inflation. “Anyone who has no reserves is having a hard time at the moment,” Scholz replies. The Bafög amendment is a first step, and the 9-euro ticket should also relieve students, Scholz hopes. “We will continue to see what needs to be done.”
6:05 p.m .: “These are very serious times,” says Scholz. “We mustn’t make any mistakes,” the Chancellor made clear. That’s why it’s so important to talk to your partner. “It is also part of it when the times are very excited, stay clear and firm. It’s a time when it’s not about: what’s in the newspaper tomorrow?” said Scholz.
6:04 p.m .: The first question is asked by an 81-year-old. He wants to know where Scholz gets the strength to moderate the current crises. These are really flattering words that the good man finds for the chancellor. “Can you still sleep?” he asks at the end.
6:03 p.m .: After a few introductory words, the question and answer session opens. Incidentally, Scholz feels “very comfortable” here in Lübeck. That’s nice.
6 p.m.: It starts on time. The Chancellor is here.
The appointment in Lübeck is intended to be the prelude to moderated discussion events with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz in all 16 federal states in the coming months. On Monday evening, Scholz will be a guest in north-east Schleswig-Holstein at the start and will meet 150 citizens who can ask him questions.
FOCUS Online reports in the live ticker.
