By Michael Sauerbier
In the polls, the AfD is level with the SPD. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64, SPD) feels this on the street. At a European festival in Falkensee (Brandenburg), he was loudly booed.
The SPD attracted around 300 visitors to the town hall in Falkensee near Berlin with free beer and sausages. In the hall, Scholz explained to his comrades at the European Party Congress why Germany is supporting Ukraine against the Russian attack. But later he didn’t succeed on the festival stage in front of the hall.
Almost 100 festivalgoers yelled at the chancellor outside for minutes, yelled “warmonger”, “liar” and “bandit”. They demanded “make peace without weapons” and “get away!” Some waved peace flags, others wore shirts with symbols of Russia and anti-vaccination.
Look at the crowd whistling and yelling at Olaf Scholz Photo: Michael Sauerbier
But Scholz did not let himself be shouted down. “The warmonger is Putin, if you still had any sense in your brains,” the Chancellor shouted into the microphone. “Putin invaded the Ukraine with 200,000 soldiers. He destroyed villages and towns, he killed an incredible number of citizens, women and children. This is gun violence!”
But the roaring attacks continued when Brandenburg’s SPD Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (61) went to the microphone. He countered: “This demo actually belongs on Red Square in front of the Kremlin. You have every right to ask Putin to abolish all weapons immediately. But then you would get to know another side of Russia, which you love so much!”
Under police protection, Scholz and Woidke returned to the party hall. The BZ asked what to do against the rise of the AfD. The chancellor was silent, Woidke was not. “You have to talk to people and explain the things you do,” said the Potsdam head of government. He does this on district trips and citizen dialogues in Brandenburg. Without much success.
“The 18 percent for the AfD have another side of the coin,” said Woidke, “and that is the high dissatisfaction with the government work in Berlin.” A dig at Scholz. Does the traffic light have to show more unity and closeness to the people? SPD man Woidke grimly: “You have to ask the Chancellor.” But he left quickly.