TV column - Juso boss ploughs through ZDF show - Lanz is astonished, the CDU general is horrified

After the federal election , in which the Union emerged as the strongest force with 28 percent, coalition negotiations are now underway. ZDF presenter Markus Lanz took this as an opportunity on Tuesday evening to ask CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann: "What bothers you more - that you clearly missed the 30 percent or that you actually only have one possible coalition partner - namely the SPD?"

Linnemann admitted with astonishing openness that he would have liked to have had "two (...) possible partners". The reason? "The SPD is of course in a very strong position now - also in the negotiations." Lanz nodded: "One could say - a certain blackmail potential." A statement that clearly gave Carsten Linnemann something to think about: "You could say it like that. But I think we shouldn't use such words anymore, because it's no longer about blackmail."

The CDU man warned that the coalition negotiations were "the last exit" because: "The next step is Austria!" Linnemann explained with a serious expression: "If we don't manage to (...) bring a little trust back into politics, (...) then that's it. Then the AfD will be at 40 percent next time. (...) And that's why it's not about blackmail, but we will try with the SPD (...) to first get an overview of the situation and see whether we are talking about the same situation. (...) If we agree in describing the situation, (...) then we'll get it done."

The politician added that many votes for the AfD were "not just protest votes," but "simply voices that say: 'They have failed.'" According to Linnemann, there is currently "a depressive mood" and "hardly any confidence" in the country, "and we have to change that. And we can only do that if there is a plan again."

What the plan should look like? That remained unanswered during the program. Regarding the much-discussed topic of migration, Lanz wanted to know: "What would have to be in the coalition agreement for the two of you to come to an agreement on this point?" While the Juso chairman Philipp Türmer was incensed by what he perceived as the Union's demand to turn away all migrants at the borders, Linnemann protested loudly: "I would never close the borders. We urgently need immigration into the labor market. I also want to be humane - take in people who are fleeing hardship. But I want to stop illegal, irregular migration because there are simply too many of them."

Linnemann was similarly clear on the subject of the debt brake: “The debt brake remains!” However, Philipp Türmer did not want to accept this and countered: “I have strong emotions on the subject of the debt brake, it is worse than some peanut allergies.”

In general, Philipp Türmer was less willing to compromise when it came to the coalition negotiations. He made it clear that the talks were "not a sure-fire success" and therefore "open-ended". A blatant threat that made Lanz suspicious: "Are you saying that tactically?" Türmer promptly denied this: "I'm saying that because I mean it. The divisions in this election campaign have become damn deep."

A statement that surprised the ZDF presenter again: "Are you really saying that because you mean it? I'm asking because Lars Klingbeil used the almost identical formulation about the trenches. (...) Is that a figure of speech to put the CDU under pressure?" An accusation that the Juso leader rejected, saying that it was "certainly not Willy Brandt House wording, but (...) simply the truth." When Türmer took a dig at Friedrich Merz and condemned his criticism of "left-wing nutters," Carsten Linnemann burst out: "That was about the Antifa that met there in Munich. They are radicals, (...) they are being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution!"

Philipp Türmer countered unimpressed: "I wish that you were also anti-fascists in the Union." A statement that shocked Linnemann: "Now let's forget about the election campaign! It was about Antifa, left-wing extremists, and he called them left-wing idiots!" The Juso leader, however, did not want to accept the argument and made it clear: "Anti-fascism is not extreme at all - in any form. In fact, I think it is actually a democratic civic duty."

When asked by Lanz whether "Friedrich Merz is an anti-fascist," Türmer reacted critically: "He has to make that clear for himself." He made it clear that the SPD should only sign a coalition agreement if Merz apologized for voting with the AfD. "With this cooperation, something in the democratic culture in this country has broken and we now need a signal that this is not okay," explained the Juso leader. He added: "In my opinion, it is necessary that this mistake that was made by the Union and by Friedrich Merz (...) is corrected."