FDP politician Strack-Zimmermann doesn’t mince her words. She now asks for forgiveness for recent comments about Olaf Scholz – but not to the Chancellor.
FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann has apologized for comments she made in an interview about Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). She had allowed herself to be carried away by an inappropriate comparison and had hurt people with autism, her party’s top candidate told the German Press Agency in Berlin on Thursday. “I am very sorry about that and I apologize for that. I am already in contact with many of those affected.” She did not apologize to Scholz.
In an interview with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”, Strack-Zimmermann described Scholz as a “blatant know-it-all” with “almost autistic traits”.
“I admit that Olaf Scholz’s actions and his lack of willingness to engage in discourse and the condescending comments he made to members of his own coalition when they disagreed with him have left me extremely frustrated and scarred me over the last three years,” Strack-Zimmermann explained. “In my view, it is damaging not only the political landscape, but also the country.”
Strack-Zimmermann stressed that she regretted that she had overshot the mark with her words. “For many years, I have been committed to helping children, young people and people with special abilities and needs. They can expect a high level of sensitivity, especially from politicians.” She added: “I regret that I have not done justice to this here and promise to be more careful and to learn from this as well.”
The original statements had caused great irritation in the SPD. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil suggested that Strack-Zimmermann apologize – but to Scholz. “That is a verbal slip-up that I find absolutely indecent. If Ms. Strack-Zimmermann has any decency, she will apologize to the Chancellor,” Klingbeil told Bild (Thursday). The democratic parties had agreed on a fair European election campaign. “I firmly believe that this also applies to the FDP’s top candidate.”
SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Dirk Wiese described the comments as a “total failure”. They were intended to be derogatory, undignified and strange. SPD general secretary Kevin Kühnert accused Strack-Zimmermann of disrespect in the “Rheinische Post”. “Anyone who has no more arguments verbally denigrates their political competitor.”
Strack-Zimmermann is chairwoman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee and a vocal advocate of extensive support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. In this context, she has repeatedly been noted for harsh criticism of Scholz, whom she repeatedly accused of hesitation in supplying weapons to Kiev. The FDP defense expert emphasized in the interview that her criticism does not only relate to the Chancellor’s Ukraine policy. “This applies to all issues and is also confirmed to me by his party colleagues.”