State elections - Voigt will bring about a government change
Mario Voigt (CDU) will bring about the government change during the Landtag election on September 1st. This requires a campaign focusing on issues in Thuringia, said the Chairman and lead candidate of the CDU Thuringia during the joint campaign kickoff of the CDU Saxony and Thuringia in the Saxon Meerane. "Our benchmark must always be what moves the people in this country."
As the first topic, he named the high percentage of missed school hours. This is left-wing education policy that neglects the opportunities of young people, Voigt stated. "As CDU, we give instruction instead of an absence guarantee", he said.
Proposal: "Eight-week approved guarantee"
Thuringia is also concerned with migration. "We are an open country, but please don't hang the door to our home out to the street, but we decide ourselves who comes and how many", Voigt said. The CDU wants to stop illegal migration to Germany. The economy should be strengthened by a bureaucracy reduction. For this, he proposed an "Eight-week approved guarantee": If an application is not processed within eight weeks, it should be automatically approved.
Voigt received praise from CDU Federal Chairman Friedrich Merz for engaging with the Thuringian AfD chief Bjoern Hoecke in public discourse and "taking a little mask off his face". "You deserve the utmost respect and thanks for that", Merz said. Hoecke subsequently had problems within his own ranks because he was too soft, too gentle, and too friendly in the discussion with Voigt. Merz emphasized that there would be no cooperation with the AfD.
CDU as "Bulwark for Democracy"
Voigt emphasized that it is especially important in Thuringia for the CDU because "we have people sitting in front of the door with us in Thuringia, extremists who want to fundamentally change our country". "We must not allow Sachsen and Thuringia to be governed by ideologues who practice hateful politics", he said. The CDU is "the bulwark for democracy".
Voigt, along with Merz and the Saxon Minister President Michael Kretschmer, attended the joint campaign kickoff of the two state associations Saxony and Thuringia on Thursday evening. On September 1st, Landtag elections are taking place in both states. In Thuringia, the AfD came in first place in an INSA survey from the end of June with 29%, significantly ahead of the CDU with 22% and the BSW (20%). In neighboring Saxony, the party was last in an Infratest survey with 29%, just behind the AfD (30%).
- Mario Voigt, the CDU lead candidate in Thuringia, outlined his focus on issues such as education during the joint campaign kickoff with CDU Saxony.
- Voigt highlighted the concern of missed school hours, a result of the left-wing education policy, and proposed an "Eight-week approved guarantee."
- Voigt also addressed migration, stating that Germany should be an open country but decide who and how many immigrants enter.
- Friedrich Merz, the CDU Federal Chairman, commended Voigt for engaging with the Thuringian AfD chief Björn Höcke in public discourse.
- Merz emphasized that there would be no cooperation with the AfD, as they are the "bulwark for democracy" and cannot allow extremists to govern.
- In the state elections on September 1st, both Saxony and Thuringia will hold Landtag elections, with the AfD leading in Thuringia according to an INSA survey.
- Voigt, along with Merz and the Saxon Minister President Michael Kretschmer, attended the campaign kickoff to mobilize support for the CDU in both states.
- The CDU's campaign in both Saxony and Thuringia will center on addressing the concerns of the people and maintaining democracy in the face of extremist challenges.
