“This is no longer fringe, this is now really hardcore,” says Strack-Zimmermann about the AfD

The options are limited. After the Union's election victory, everything is pointing towards a shrunken grand coalition. Friedrich Merz has already announced "constructive, good, speedy talks" with the SPD, but its representatives are currently still emphasizing the differences with the conservatives.

"Who will change Germany now?" Louis Klamroth asked the head of the Federal Chancellery, Wolfgang Schmidt (SPD), the CDU member of the Bundestag Philipp Amthor, the FDP MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the Green Party's campaign manager Andreas Audretsch, the non-party mayor of the Thuringian municipality of Dillstädt, Liane Bach, and the journalist Gilda Sahebi on Monday.

It is too often about people and "far too rarely" about content, complained Sahebi. She felt that the last few weeks were "political theater." Only in the election arenas did the question of self-presentation take a back seat to the issues. "That is one of the many reasons why trust in politics is dwindling in general," explained the author.

Wolfgang Schmidt took a similar position. "I'm returning to that personal level too quickly," he replied when asked about his professional future. The focus must be on the different concepts for a secure pension and fairer wages. "The time for sayings is over now, now it's about reaching an agreement."

"In fact, you should work on the matter, but if you find each other nice and likeable, it is of course easier," Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann emphasized the importance of actors in politics. She showed less interest in the debate about her person. Klamroth asked if she wanted to run for FDP chairwoman . "That is speculation from a newspaper with four capital letters," she dismissed. Four years are now ahead that will be "tough" for her party. The executive committee will discuss the upcoming tasks this week. "Nobody will be doing it alone." Amthor took the opportunity to recommend a candidate to the Liberals. " Wolfgang Kubicki is a very good politician."

This enticed Klamroth to ask questions. Could he imagine becoming a minister or state secretary? "Now it's your turn. Everyone gets one starting this evening!", said Strack-Zimmermann happily. But the CDU politician also talked his way out of it, as expected. People were more interested in the difficult task of forming a coalition, he said. The "extremist forces of the AfD" were not an option for this, even if the SPD and the Greens had tried to put a "brown cloak" over the Union. "We don't need any anti-fascist tutoring from the red-green coalition," stressed Amthor. In doing so, they would have damaged the election campaign climate and caused "serious damage" to the political center.

Amthor said the AfD's electoral successes were an "absolute nuisance" for the Union. While he spoke out against any cooperation with its radicalized officials, he warned of a "firewall" between the parties and the right-wing populists' electorate, which mostly consisted of "normal people from the middle of society."

Liane Bach, on the other hand, would like to see greater openness to cooperation. "They are democratically elected, they get their money from the German taxpayer, and I would like them to be included in the decisions," demanded the mayor. In her region, party supporters are tired of being defamed as "Nazis."

However, Bach did not find approval for her initiative. Andreas Audretsch, for example, complained that it was a right-wing extremist party that was causing unrest, violating democratic rules and repeating Vladimir Putin's narrative. "Constructive cooperation - any kind of cooperation at all with the AfD - is not possible," explained the Green politician.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann saw it very similarly. The FDP politician criticized the party for making accusations but never offering solutions. In the coming years, she will make life difficult for the presumed coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD as a "hardcore opposition." "This is no longer a fringe party, it is now really hardcore."

Wolfgang Schmidt at least showed understanding for the fact that the AfD, for example, is enjoying 38 percent of support among the working class. "There is a lot of anger among many people, and there are reasons for it," said the SPD politician. In 2022, for example, there were the highest real wage losses since the Second World War. Wages have now been rising again for six quarters, but are still lagging behind inflation. "There is simply no one magic wand that can undo all of this," the Chancellor's Office Minister continued, even if the right-wing populists act as if there were one. When it comes to concrete solutions to pension or rental issues, the party has nothing to offer. "It's just hot air."

Dominik Lippe regularly reports on the evening political talk shows for WELT. The biologist is a graduate of the Axel Springer FreeTech Academy.