Scholz vs. Meltz – without Habeck

Two days after a heated debate over trust, fires are burning under German roofs again. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is said to have influenced a planned televised duel. Meanwhile, the Greens and AfD are furious at being left sitting at the “ant table”.

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Act One: Olaf Scholz

Did he or didn't he? The question plagued German newspapers on Wednesday. Current Chancellor Olaf Scholz is said to have set conditions for participation in televised debates on the ARD and ZDF TV channels, Table Media reported.

Scholz is said to have announced that he would only participate in a duel organized by the broadcaster. In fact, unlike before the 2021 federal election, a duel is now underway.

On Monday, the broadcaster announced that SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz and CDU lead candidate Friedrich Merz will face off in the ring on February 9, two weeks before the election.

Did Olaf Scholz put pressure on you?Image: trapezoid

Act Two: Ugly Green Plants

This angered the Greens. Irene Mihalic, speaker of the Green Party in the Bundestag, said of Scholz's alleged behavior: “In my opinion, this requires an explanation.”

However, the Greens were even more angry that their top candidate Robert Habeck did not take part in the announced televised debate.

Party leader Franziska Brantner said on the Bluesky platform that with the planned Scholz/Meerz duel, ARD and ZDF would intervene in the public campaign. Need equal opportunities:

Green Party leader Franziska Brandtner is furious.Image: trapezoid

To understand the Greens’ anger, we need to look to the past. Ahead of the 2021 federal elections, ARD and ZDF invite people to watch CDU candidates Armin Laschet, Greens candidates Annalena Baerbock and Olaf Scholz (Olaf Scholz) televised trial.

Habeck's spokesman also mentioned this fact: “As a reminder: at the same time before the 2021 elections, the SPD was far behind in the opinion polls – yet the ARD and the ZDF were planning the underworld from the beginning.”

Scholz, Berbock and Laschet will face off in 2021.Image: trapezoid

Scholz took advantage of this opportunity and subsequently made great inroads with the Social Democrats and became the new chancellor, succeeding Merkel.

Habeck's campaign spokesman called on broadcasters to reconsider their plans. Because Habaek's personal poll numbers are good. For the Greens, things look a little different. They are in fourth place with 11.5%, behind the EU, AfD and SPD.

Act Three: ARD Denies

When asked by Der Spiegel about the “Table Media” study, an ARD spokesman denied any influence from Scholz's camp.

“Our editorial philosophy was developed completely independent of any conditions or influence from politicians,” it said. They chose Scholz and Merz because the former was the incumbent and the latter the most promising challenger. There will also be a “final round” of voting with all four top candidates just days before the election.

Friedrich Merz smiled broadly. The CDU figure is the most promising candidate for the new federal chancellorship.Image: trapezoid

The investigation backed up the station's argument. The CDU/CSU, currently the opposition party, has long been the undisputed leader with 31.5% support.

Act Four: The Angry AfD

But that doesn't solve the problem. As well as the Greens, the AfD is also angry. The dissatisfaction there, however, was entirely directed at the non-invitation to watch the televised duel. According to the current survey, the German alternative currently ranks second with 19.5%.

“Of course the whole thing is a farce,” said top candidate Alice Wedel.

Alice Weidel is annoyed by the ARD and ZDF decisions.Image: trapezoid

Her spokesman told AFP:

The AfD's anger is fueled by the fact that it did not take part in the 2021 televised trial with the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens.

For the sake of completeness, it must be noted that ARD and ZDF do not completely deny the existence of AfD and Green Party TV in the form of political debates. Their two top candidates, Alice Wedel and Robert Habeck, were supposed to face each other in a separate duel.

However, this was not going to happen; Habeck canceled the debate. His campaign spokesman said: “We explicitly ruled out such a duel in advance and announced that we would not accept the invitation.”

Nonetheless, the fact that two broadcasters extended the invitation immediately sparked outrage among the Greens. Andreas Audretsch, vice-president of the Green Party, said: “In announcing the duel some two months before the election date, ARD and ZDF are intervening in an extremely short, intensive and, above all, public campaign.”

Akt 5: Christian Lindner

Liberal Democratic Party leaders want to inherit. Namely Robert Habeck's position in the televised duel with Alice Weddle. Lindner wrote on X:

Whether it will develop into this is doubtful. Lindner's party is even trying to reach the 5% threshold. She has no ambitions for the premiership.

FDP leader Christian Lindner wants to run against Alice Weidel.Image: trapezoid

For now, it looks like this will still be a showdown between Scholz and Meltz. The 90-minute program will be broadcast simultaneously on both channels and will be hosted by Sandra Maischberger (ARD) and Maybrit Illner (ZDF).

The second meeting will be held on RTL, n-tv and the “Stern” program, with Pinar Atalay and Günther Jauch as moderators ensuring a civilized meeting.