Germany Quadrell: Merz sees SPD or Greens as possible partners
After a contentious four-way debate between the candidates for chancellor from the SPD, Greens, CDU/CSU and AfD, all parties are now entering the final sprint to the Bundestag elections.
17.02.2025, 03:08
SDA
In the so-called Quadrell on RTL and ntv, Union chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz built bridges to the SPD and Greens as possible coalition partners and expressly kept both options open. "I have great doubts about the FDP," Merz added. He once again ruled out cooperation with the AfD.
Merz said he was fairly certain that sensible talks would be possible after the election. "I believe that the Social Democrats have understood that they cannot go on like this. I believe that the Greens have understood that they cannot go on like this. And we have a plan for this country."
Who was ahead in the round of four?
One week before the Bundestag elections, the CDU/CSU and their candidate Merz are clearly ahead in the polls at around 30 percent. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his SPD are only polling between 14 and 16 percent. And according to a Forsa flash poll, Merz also fared best in the four-way race with Scholz, Robert Habeck (Greens) and Alice Weidel (AfD). Out of 2,004 viewers surveyed, 32 percent saw Merz ahead of Scholz with 25 percent. Habeck and Weidel each received 18 percent.
Habeck was rated the most likeable: 34 percent of respondents said so, compared to 23 percent for Merz, 19 percent for Scholz and 17 percent for Weidel. The question of who could best lead the country was again decided in Merz's favor with 42%. He was followed by Scholz with 19 percent, Weidel with 16 percent and Habeck with 13 percent.
However, it also became clear in the survey that the four-party round will not have a major impact on the election outcome. 84% of respondents answered "no" to the question of whether the debate had changed their personal voting decision. Only 10 percent said "yes".
What was new?
The four-person panel also mainly delivered familiar positions on topics such as migration, the economy, energy and pensions. Scholz and Habeck accused the CDU/CSU and AfD of pursuing a socially unjust tax policy that is not counter-financed. Habeck even spoke of "voodoo economics". Merz and Weidel, in turn, blamed Scholz and Habeck for the recession in Germany. Climate protection was practically not mentioned as a point of discussion in this round.
When it came to the war in Ukraine, however, Merz, Scholz and Habeck were in agreement on the main points: all three want to continue to support the country attacked by Russia and have condemned the recent interference by US Vice President J.D. Vance in the German election campaign. AfD leader Weidel was alone in her position on both points. She was the only one to praise Vance and called for "no more German weapons in Ukraine".
Rarely heard in the election campaign so far was a topic on which presenters Günther Jauch and Pinar Atalay asked all four opponents: "Smartphone ban in schools, yes or no?" Scholz and Habeck said no. Merz, on the other hand, said that this had already been tried and tested in Schleswig-Holstein and that it "seems to me to be a sensible answer, at least for elementary school". Weidel was clearly in favor of such a ban.
Where did things get heated?
When Scholz ruled out any cooperation between democratic parties and the far right and also mentioned the AfD and the history of National Socialism, Weidel reacted angrily: "I find this comparison scandalous. I reject it for myself personally and for the entire party." Merz called the AfD "a right-wing extremist party, to a large extent right-wing extremist". Weidel, for her part, criticized "an outrageous framing of the Alternative for Germany", which she called "a liberal conservative party".
What was special?
The four candidates for chancellor agreed on at least one point: none of them want to go to the jungle camp. When asked by the moderators: "What is worse for you, opposition or jungle camp?", Weidel replied: "Definitely jungle camp." Merz also said: "I'd rather spend decades in opposition than ten days in the jungle camp." Habeck agreed with this. Scholz added that he had seen the show before.
And yet another RTL classic came into play. In the style of "Who wants to be a millionaire?", presenter Jauch gave four possible answers to the question "What percentage of civil servants work until the statutory retirement age?": A: 20%, B: 40%, C: 60% and D: 80%. Habeck opted for 60%, Merz and Weidel each guessed 40%, and Scholz 20%. Jauch resolved the question with the sentence: "Well, that takes you one round further, Mr. Scholz." His answer: "That's my plan anyway."
Who made a mistake?
Jauch made a small blunder with what is probably Germany's most famous beer mat. In 2003, Merz made headlines by calling for tax returns to be simplified so that they would fit on such a lid. And it was precisely this cardboard with Merz's original notes that Jauch had in the studio. The presenter said he had to be very careful. "I've been told that I'm not allowed to touch this beer mat myself because it's a museum piece." But, bang, the accident had already happened: The beer mat fell to the floor. Jauch picked it up again, apparently unscathed.
