Police catch CDU top candidate drunk on e-scooter
Jan Redmann spends an evening with joy. It seems that alcohol was consumed. Afterward, Brandenburg's CDU top candidate is stopped by police while riding an electric scooter at home. A breathalyzer test results in a 1.3 promille reading. Redmann apologizes but refuses to step down.
Brandenburg's CDU Landes- and Fraktionschef Jan Redmann was stopped by police while riding an electric scooter home on Thursday. The police asked him for a breathalyzer test which resulted in a 1.3 promille alcohol content.
"I will bear the consequences of my mistake," said Redmann. He had already voluntarily surrendered his driver's license. Redmann also promised a transparent handling of the incident. A procedure is currently underway. The CDU politician announced that he "will continue the campaign undeterred and fight for our ideas for Brandenburg." He considered himself responsible for engaging more intensely with the CDU.
According to his own statements, Redmann was stopped by police during a routine check while on his way home from an evening with friends in Potsdam on Thursday. The officers requested a breathalyzer test. The rapid test showed a 1.3 promille alcohol content in his breath.
Redmann runs for Minister President
"I am running for the office of Minister President," Redmann wrote in a statement. He is someone "who is willing and able to take responsibility, but also someone who is not free of errors and stands by them, even if it is painful personally." He asked the people of Brandenburg to judge him based on his political ideas and solutions for the future of the state, rather than on a mistake that pains him the most.
An election for a new Brandenburg state parliament is scheduled for September 22. The CDU is currently in the lead in polls in Brandenburg, tied with the governing SPD of Minister President Dietmar Woidke at 19%. The strongest force in Brandenburg, according to the polls, is the AfD, which is seen to have 23%.
Redmann calls for stricter youth sentencing
Redmann is an advocate for stricter youth sentencing. The age of criminal responsibility should be lowered from 14 to 12 years, and offenders over 18 should be tried according to adult sentencing laws. The CDU federal leadership understood these demands at a retreat early July in Berlin, said Jan Redmann, the CDU Landeschef of Brandenburg. Young offenders need "to clearly receive the message that consequences and strictness also apply in Germany."
Redmann stated that the current age of criminal responsibility of 14 is too high. With the demand to lower this threshold to 12 years, it's not about putting children in prison, but about enabling educational measures for those who have committed a series of crimes before turning 14.
Redmann added: "Those who are just gaining experience with the German legal system should not be given the impression that it's a system of laissez-faire." Young offenders aged 18, 19, and 20 should no longer be sentenced according to the current milder youth sentencing laws, but according to adult sentencing laws.
Despite the alcohol-filled evening, Redmann's politics remained unfazed, as he continued his campaign for Minister President in Brandenburg. However, his stance on youth sentencing faced scrutiny after his own run-in with the law, calling for stricter sentencing for juvenile offenders.
