TV debate Merz vs Scholz: was there a winner?
Two weeks before Germany's Bundestag elections take place, the chancellor candidate of the ruling SPD, Olaf Scholz, and the CDU/CSU candidate Friedrich Merz have faced off in a prime-time TV debate. There were no fierce verbal attacks but the audience share was high at more than 40 percent. Commentators' assessments of the debate vary widely.
Controversial and vibrant
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung sees Germans once again facing the choice between two centrist but ideologically opposed politicians:
“Anyone who took the time to watch the TV debate between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his challenger Friedrich Merz on Sunday evening was not disappointed. ... The debate between the Social Democrat and his Christian Democrat challenger was tough, mostly fair, and it showed one thing above all else: the citizens of Germany once again have the choice between two centrist politicians who represent different world views. ... On Sunday, viewers saw a debate that was worthy of the name. ... Clear differences instead of squabbling over minor details: German politics has not always been this vibrant and controversial.”
Many questions left unanswered
For Tagesschau.de the TV debate failed to provide any visions for the future:
“The gap between rich and poor, rents, climate change, pensions: hardly a word was said on these issues. Instead there was a lot of nitpicking, percentages and technical terms. Even on the controversial topic of migration there were no new answers. The message was that we need to be harder, stricter and more consistent with those who come to Germany. But will that really solve the problems that people have with the issue of migration at the local level? Olaf Scholz also failed to surprise. Minimum wage and top tax rate – will that be enough to catch up with the CDU, which is still 15 percentage points ahead in the polls, within two weeks? Scholz didn't launch many attacks, Friedrich Merz made few mistakes. Nonetheless, neither of the two is likely to have won over the many undecided voters.”
Objective discussion instead of mud-slinging
Die Presse praises the civilised tone between Merz and Scholz:
“Those who watch political TV debates in Austria or the US on a regular basis may have been braced to watch a wild live mud fight, complete with personal insults and fake news cluster bombs. ... But those expecting to see this on Sunday evening would have been bitterly disappointed. With Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz they saw a face-off between two candidates who actually wanted to present their arguments objectively. ... Two politicians who despite their clearly diverging world views (almost always) let each other finish what they were saying and didn't just throw around fictitious figures.”
The real winner wasn't on the set
The AfD is setting the political agenda, Avgi notes:
“Now in second place in all the polls, the far-right party can easily claim to have won the TV debate without even having taken part. After all, the first half-hour of the debate was devoted to immigration. Both rivals tried to convince the audience that their party had the better formula for securing the borders and limiting the number of asylum seekers in the country. ... It's now clear that the far right has set the agenda for political debate in the country. The policies of the next government in Berlin will be much tougher, much more influenced by the propaganda of the far right.”
Merz losing ground
It would seem that Merz miscalculated, The Daily Telegraph concludes:
“Nearly two weeks on, Merz is still suffering a ferocious backlash to his Faustian pact with the AfD – and not just from fellow politicians. For a second weekend in a row, tens of thousands of Germans have taken to the streets to protest against the AfD and Merz's decision to lean on them for parliamentary support. ... There have been early indications that Germans' displeasure with Merz may well damage his performance come election day. After weeks of comfortably polling at or above 30 percent, several new surveys suggest the party's popularity may be slipping to 29 percent or below.”
What about the neighbours?
Germany is debating migration controls without regard for its European neighbours, complains Echo24:
“For the first time, Germany is talking openly about the huge social, economic and security problem it has landed itself with. Yes, the pressure on politicians to tighten immigration rules is growing and will be decisive for the outcome of the election and the new government. But if one had expected at least a hint of reflection on whether further unilateral moves, this time by the police, would worsen relations with neighbours or get them into trouble through no fault of their own, that expectation was in vain. What is right for Germany must also be right for the rest of Europe.”