Video warns of “black and brown”
Faeser has controversial SPD election commercial deleted
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In a video about the state election campaign in Hesse, the Social Democrats lash out violently against CDU Prime Minister Rhein. This is about the relationship between the CDU and the AfD. That's too much for SPD top candidate Faeser. Nevertheless, she demands a position from the head of government.
A video from the Hessian SPD about the CDU and its top candidate Boris Rhein is causing a stir just a week before the state elections. “That's not my style. It's been taken down,” said the SPD's top candidate and Federal Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, about the video on the sidelines of an election campaign event in Frankfurt am Main. The Secretary General took down the video from the channel. “I decided this today.” There are state elections in Hesse on October 8th.
“However, we have to talk about this matter,” she continued and called on CDU opponent Boris Rhein to take a stand on the AfD issue. “And it would be nice if Mr. Rhein would comment on the fact that leading CDU people in Wetzlar recently met with the AfD. So it would be nice if he said something about that.”
SPD general secretary apologizes
The general secretary of the Hesse SPD, Christoph Degen, then apologized for the video: “As general secretary of the Hesse SPD, I bear responsibility for this video and apologize to the CDU for it,” said Degen. “As Secretary General, I released the video, not the top candidate. Nancy Faeser has decided that the video will no longer be used.”
The election campaign spot refers to a joint vote between the CDU and AfD in Thuringia and asks: “Is there a threat of such cooperation soon in Hesse too? Will Boris Rhein get votes from right-wing extremists?” The video circulated on Saturday on the X platform, formerly Twitter.
The almost 90-second video makes reference, among other things, to the former CDU politician Erika Steinbach, who has now joined the AfD and is chairwoman of the AfD-affiliated Desiderius Erasmus Foundation. A picture of the controversial Wetzlar CDU politician Hans-Jürgen Irmer, who is considered a right-wing extremist in his party, is also shown. He had recently given up his remaining party positions early – the chairmanship of the CDU district association Lahn-Dill and the chairmanship of the CDU district council group.
Laschet: “Humanly disappointing”
“The CDU can no longer be relied upon when it comes to the AfD,” says a female voice at the end of the video. “We guarantee that Hesse remains free of right-wing politics.” The message then appears in large white and red letters: “No black-brown cooperation.”
The CDU politician Armin Laschet criticized the video on The fact that Faeser and the SPD acted like this against “Walter Lübcke's party” is humanly disappointing and unforgivable. The Federal Managing Director of the Green Party, Emily Büning, described the video as “at least questionable”.
