In the end he almost lost his temper. For a full hour, Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (71, CDU) patiently listened to opinions on economic and financial issues. Then the politician, who was supposed to defend his country against the AfD in next year’s state elections, raised the issue in a harsh manner.
Haseloff’s core question: “What are we spending money on in Germany, which is currently struggling and not on a good economic path? And can we pretend, boldly, as if we can save the world alone, with one percent of the world’s population? That’s a discussion we have to have!”
The main demands of parliamentarians in relation to AfD: “That we consolidate first before we give aid elsewhere. That is of course a major topic in the political discussion when I look at voter migration. We have to discuss again about what we are spending so much money on. What can Germany, with its broad shoulders, as we always say, strong and so on, achieve in the long term?”
Haselhoff on the AfD’s survey record in Saxony-Anhalt (last 40 percent): “Five years ago we had a figure that was only half that. Now there are many things added: the war, the level of inflation, uncertainty about one’s job.”
“We were basically broke.”
MP, who spent half his life in East Germany: “In the last 35 years we have lost a lot of competence. We are no longer the strong economic power we were proud of. We are proud to join this Germany, with its hard currency and industry, starting with Porsche, which was able to score points anywhere, and we became mediocre everywhere.”
Haseloff’s worrying analysis: “We are losing leading industries. We are basically bankrupt. The main problem is that we have to finance huge sums of money in the form of non-insurance benefits from the federal budget. This cannot continue to grow. There are also things to talk about that are not related to German citizenship, which also includes the whole issue of migration. If we do not solve this problem properly, we will go bankrupt. The fact is that we cannot afford to do that financially at the moment Wow.”
The passionate demand of this CDU politician: “There are limits. That’s why we have to talk about structures that limit certain things. It is not for nothing that the EU has just determined that Germany’s capacity to deal with illegal immigration that does not directly enter the labor market has been exhausted. If the economy does not move forward, we will not be able to maintain this welfare state.”
Haseloff’s particular frustration: “We also have to consider the issue of resilience, that we keep certain areas with us and not make ourselves more dependent. We used to be Solar Valley in Saxony-Anhalt. Now it’s all in China.” And: “You can’t do chemistry without CO2 emissions. But what is implemented in climate policy is only implemented in the European Union and even more so in Germany, while the rest of the world doesn’t care!”
Haseloff’s most dramatic example: “We must also have the power to defend ourselves so that we don’t import steel from Russia and then confront them with tanks, so that they don’t attack us. I’m talking now about the survivability of a country that doesn’t have enough soldiers, that realizes that it can’t defend itself, and allows itself to be protected by America for decades so that it can develop a welfare state.”
