Kretschmer opposes the Greens, while the AfD perceives only challenges.
Approaching the state elections in Saxony in less than two weeks, the Saxon front-runners will encounter viewer inquiries on Monday night via MDR television. The viewers will witness a composed exchange of ideas, concluding without a decisive victor.
Bringing together seven main contenders for a state election can prove challenging. Consequently, heated debates might ensue, as demonstrated last Thursday night in the MDR election arena before the state elections in Thuringia. However, on Monday night, the Saxon front-runners convened for a discussion. Surprisingly, the two election arenas bore little resemblance. While the moderators prompted the questions on Thursday, the moderators allowed the audience to take the lead on Monday. Regarding the front-runners, there are significant differences between Thuringia and Saxony.
Both events featured seven prominent speakers. Interestingly, in Thuringia, only one female major party leader was represented, in contrast to Saxony, where four female leaders faced three male leaders. Furthermore, the peacefulness of the discussions on four topics was more prominent during Monday's evening broadcast.
The only minor disagreement centered around the question of Saxon universities participating in military research. In the Wahlomat for the Saxony election, the Alliance for Progress and Social Justice (BSW) expressed approval, only for its top candidate, Sabine Zimmermann, to clarify during Monday's broadcast that the BSW supports the universities' option to decide voluntarily but encourages rejection of military research. The Left Party's top candidate, Susanne Schaper, a staunch opponent of military research, found Zimmermann's clarification surprising.
However, the debate remained peaceful, as the duo of moderators, Julia Krittian and Andreas Rook, skillfully steered the discussion. Asylum policy and the skilled worker shortage remained the primary topics, as in Thuringia. Here, the AfD's Saxon leader's approach differed remarkably from Thuringia's: Jörg Urban abstained from announcing divisive initiatives in the style of Björn Höcke, who aimed to make Thuringia "as undesirable as possible" for refugees and addressed the skilled worker shortage mainly by boosting Germany's birth rate.
Saxon front-runners and asylum policy
The introduction of a payment card for refugees awaiting asylum decisions drew a diverse range of opinions. Justice Minister Katja Meier, the Green Party's top candidate, viewed these cards as illegal. Jörg Urban of the AfD held a contrasting perspective: "The payment card is simply one of many tools," he asserted, considering the introduction a "last-minute solution implemented just before the election." Urban summed up: "People no longer trust that a government that begins addressing issues only just before an election is genuinely interested in resolving them."
The payment card was first called for by the Free State of Saxony, according to Sabine Zimmermann of the BSW. Moreover, she advocated for its design to limit the amount of cash that could be withdrawn. Urban and Zimmermann both agreed that rejected asylum seekers should also receive the payment card. The proposed use of the payment card was limited to migrants with pending asylum applications, according to Saxony's government's plans. Zimmermann also stipulated: "Asylum procedures must be expedited significantly so that individuals recognize their position and understand it is not acceptable to be in limbo."
During this time, the AfD's top candidate proposed restricting asylum seekers' ability to withdraw minimal cash using the payment card, while the CDU's Minister-President Michael Kretschmer went a step further: He demanded a payment card "with the provision that no money can be withdrawn or transferred at all." Moreover, he pushed for a cap on the number of accepted asylum seekers: "Only a few tens of thousands of refugees should be allowed, not 300,000. Then we will manage it." The 300,000 figure did not apply to Saxony; rather, it referred to the approximately 350,000 individuals who applied for asylum in Germany the previous year, according to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
Kretschmer criticized the situation where refugees seeking protection returned to their home countries for vacation. He called for these instances to be eliminated: "Where are we heading? Such situations must be eliminated!" Kretschmer also advocated for the deportation of migrants who had committed crimes. "We must track them down and revoke their protected status," he said, adding: "If Chancellor Scholz had his way, he would do the same, as would the FDP. However, the Greens could have blocked the payment card in the Bundestag, and the coalition in Berlin cannot agree, as Kretschmer explained." Applause from the audience ensued. Kretschmer frequently criticized his Green coalition partner in his election campaign, almost as much as the AfD - without equating them.
Finally, Kretschmer reiterated the Saxons' pride, unaffected by directions from Berlin or Brussels. He emphasized that voting for the CDU would ensure the preservation of this pride. Contrasting Kretschmer, Schaper from the Left argued against demonizing immigration and using slogans to inflame tensions. She sought to expedite the integration of migrants into the workforce as a solution to the skills shortage and uphold the right to asylum, championed by the Left Party.
The leading contenders tackle an age-old issue plaguing Saxony: an aging population and a mass exodus of young people due to lack of opportunities, especially in rural areas. Eventually, they advocate for boosting local public transportation, increasing medical services, and rapid digitalization. FDP's top contender, Robert Malorny, advocates for encouraging businesses to settle in rural areas. However, the pressing issue: the scarcity of skilled workers, particularly in care professions. AfD's top candidate, Urban, suggests recruiting skilled laborers from Poland and the Czech Republic. SPD's top candidate, Petra Köpping, discusses an agency that has brought care workers from Brazil to Germany.
Urban also proposes addressing the skills shortage with domestic talent. He believes the current education system in Saxony needs reform due to its low standards, leading to the necessity for supplementary math and German tuition for 80% of training companies. Nevertheless, Saxony has consistently ranked first in German education for years. As a result, training companies might need to offer additional training to reach a broader range of prospective employees.
Social Democrat Köpping holds the current strategies of AfD as responsible for the skills shortage, claiming that the region's unwelcoming atmosphere drives away many migrants and young people. She recommends more educational opportunities, as well as improving the acceptance culture for migrants and locals alike.
The final showdown between Minister President Kretschmer and his AfD rival Urban appears to be a close call according to polls. It's challenging to make a judgment, as the moderators manage to allocate equal speaking time to each of the seven candidates within the 90-minute duration. What sets them apart is that Kretschmer aims to preserve the current state, stressing the various accomplishments, while Urban calls for an overhaul without specifying the nuances of his policies. Ultimately, such a format might fail to establish a clear winner. Its impact on shaping public opinion remains uncertain. More extensive debates would possibly be necessary to achieve that goal. At least, diverse viewpoints were exchanged for some intellectual stimulation.
Despite the ongoing debate on asylum policy, the CDU's Minister-President Michael Kretschmer proposed a stern stance, advocating for a payment card with no cash withdrawal or transfer capabilities for asylum seekers and a cap on accepted refugees. Meanwhile, the Alliance for Progress and Social Justice (BSW) and the AfD had differing viewpoints on the payment card, with the BSW supporting voluntary participation by universities in military research and the AfD suggesting restricting asylum seekers' cash withdrawal using the payment card.
