Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil supported his party colleagues Mike Josef and Nancy Faeser for the upcoming elections at the political Ash Wednesday of the Frankfurt SPD on Wednesday. "First Mike Josef, then Nancy Faeser," was his wish in view of the outcome of the Frankfurt mayoral election on March 5 and the decision in the Hessian state elections. "Nancy can be Federal Minister of the Interior - but then she will be a very good Prime Minister."
In his speech, Klingbeil defended Chancellor Olaf Scholz's course in view of the war in Ukraine and warned against black and white painting. Diplomacy and military strength should not be played off against each other. "For us, both belong together." At the same time, he found clear words about Russian President Vladimir Putin: "Putin will go down in history as a war criminal." In the end, he will be held accountable in international courts, according to Klingbeil.
Klingbeil also found clear words in the tradition of political Ash Wednesday speeches: He said the AfD was "a disgrace for Germany" to strong applause. "They don't love our country, they want to divide it."
He found mockery for the CDU chairman Friedrich Merz, who had failed several times in his efforts to become the chief. "It's actually like a social-democratic rise."
In his speech, Klingbeil spoke out in favor of an immigration culture "because it is in our interest" and criticized the increasing polarization not only in German, but especially in international politics. It is important to keep looking for "the political consensus in the middle," he said.
Mayor candidate Mike Josef had previously recalled right-wing terror in Germany in his speech a few days after the third anniversary of the Hanau attack. The murderous hatred of the extreme right "drapes a trail of blood across our country," he said. But not only with regard to extremism: "We still have a long way to go, that we are an open country, that people are not judged by where they come from, what name they have and what they believe in."
