Blog post - 12. Feb 2025

Politics is boring? The election forum for the Bundestag elections in the Old Gasometer impressively demonstrated that this is not true. Positions were taken, discussed and debated for almost three hours.

But from the beginning. 7 candidates from the parties represented in the Bundestag accepted our invitation. Heiko Döhler (BSW), Patrick Leonhardt (Linke), Manuel Schramm (Grüne), Nico Tippelt (FDP), Carsten Körber (CDU), Matthias Moosdorf (AfD) and Carlos Kasper (SPD), who stood in for Jens Juraschka, who had fallen ill at short notice, argued against each other. Carlos Kasper in particular was immediately in the thick of it instead of just being there. Attacking, but at the same time often pushed into a corner as a representative of the Chancellor’s party, he had a large share of the speeches at the beginning.

However, this should not obscure the fact that the other candidates were unable to make their positions clear. Speaking of points of view. What topics were actually discussed?

Economic policy was the first major topic. In the region, economic development is closely linked to the future of the VW plant in Mosel. The topic of e-mobility in particular served as a hook. While the Left, Greens and SPD in particular see this as not just a possible but a necessary future, the BSW, FDP and CDU share the view that this must be economically viable for the region. The AfD rejects the focus on e-mobility for the VW plant.

In recent weeks, migration has been a topic of debate throughout Germany, including in the Gasometer. Among other things, there have been disputes about how migration should be dealt with, how German, European and international law should be interpreted and how the contradiction between more deportations and a shortage of skilled labour can be resolved. Manuel Schramm (Green Party) pointed out that terrible acts such as the one in Aschaffenburg could never be completely ruled out and called for such acts not to be used as an opportunity to intervene heavily in asylum policy.

24 February, just one day after the Bundestag elections, marks the third anniversary of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. All candidates agreed that this war is illegal under international law and must be ended as quickly as possible. The only difference of opinion was how to achieve this. Patrick Leonhardt (Left Party) and Heiko Döhler (BSW) reject arms deliveries to Ukraine. The CDU and Carsten Körber, on the other hand, would like to increase support for Ukraine.

Equal opportunities, redistribution and recognition were the keywords to which everyone referred in the “social issues” section. Specifically, the focus was on the citizen’s income, which was introduced by the coalition government as the successor to Hartz IV.  Everything was represented, from the abolition of the citizen’s income to more detailed organisation of the citizen’s income.

The last topic block and it got heated again: finances. The debate began with the question of whether the debt brake should be retained in its current form. Unsurprisingly, the CDU, FDP and AfD were in favour. The Greens, SPD, Left Party and BSW were against. But where is the potential for savings in overburdened municipal budgets? This was the link to the other topics. Less money for migration and citizens’ income (AfD), reforming the debt brake (Left, Greens and SPD), reducing bureaucracy (FDP and CDU), reforming the care insurance system (BSW) – there were a number of proposals.

A short break was followed by a round of questions from the audience. Unlike at other election forums, these were not asked verbally, but could be submitted throughout the evening using question cards. More than 60 questions were asked. Of course, it is not possible to answer all of them. However, we made all the questions received available to the candidates after the election forum. This allows the candidates to gain an overview of what concerns citizens in their constituency. Here is an example of a question: “What measures will you take if VW stops producing here?” Mr Moosdorf (AfD) would rely on commitment from abroad, among other things. Carsten Körber (CDU) is in favour of VW joint ventures. Heiko Döhler (BSW) recalled that there used to be a lot of textile industry in the region. Perhaps that is also an option. Patrick Leonhardt (Left Party) sees the potential of new developments in the technical field. Manuel Schramm (Greens) points out that the loss of VW would be a major turning point, but that it must be possible to focus on other economic sectors in the long term. The FDP and Nico Tippelt can imagine a combination of different areas in order to overcome the crisis. With the “Made in Germany” bonus, the SPD wants to create financial incentives for suppliers.

Lots of interesting concepts for complex problems. The 200 or so guests will have to decide for themselves who to vote for on 23 February. In any case, it has become clear that the occasional accusation that the parties are indistinguishable is unfounded.

Many thanks to the moderator, Alexander Thamm, for the excellent organisation of the election forum.

The event was translated into sign language for the deaf guests.

Organiser: Alter Gasometer e.V.