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According to statements in an interview with the newspaper “Bild”, the candidate for the presidency of the CDU, Friedrich Merz, is exposed to complaints of homophobia. When asked if he would have reservations if a gay man became chancellor today, Merz initially said briefly in the live conversation: “No.”
When the moderator asked if a homosexual head of government was “completely normal” for Merz, the CDU politician added: “I will put it this way on the question of sexual orientation, that is not a matter of the public. As long as it is inside moved by the law, and as long as it does not refer to children – at this point, however, an absolute limit has been reached – it is not a matter of public discussion. ” When asked again if a gay chancellor “wasn’t taboo,” Merz said, “It’s not a problem for me at all.”
The party’s colleague and Health Minister, Jens Spahn, reacted to the CDU politician’s statements. When asked about Merz’s remarks at a press conference, Spahn said: “Well, if the first association with homosexuality is legal issues or pedophilia, then you should ask Friedrich Merz, I would say.” Spahn, who is married to a man, did not comment further, but the statement can be understood as a thinly disguised criticism. The minister supports the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, in the race for the presidency of the CDU.
SPD Vice President Kevin Kühnert, who had spoken out in the past about his own homosexuality, criticized on Twitter: “This is how someone works who cannot hide the fact that he cannot do anything with the normalization of dealing with homosexuality.” . SPD Secretary General Lars Klingbeil commented: “Friedrich would like to be picked up from the last century.” In the “Bild” newspaper, Klingbeil later added: “A clear apology is due.”
Merz’s spokesman, Armin Peter, responded to a Twitter comment in which the statements equated homosexuals and pedophiles. “That claim is malicious and downright false,” Peter wrote on Twitter. Friedrich Merz said: “Sexual orientation is not a matter of the public as long as it is within the framework of the law and does not affect children.” So this applies to straight people, gay people and everyone else. “
In an interview with the “Welt”, Merz later said that he was supposed to have “a maliciously constructed connection” that “does not appear in any of my statements.” The tolerance limit is always exceeded when children are affected, “and we’ve seen a lot of horrible things lately,” Merz said. However, how he got out of a gay chancellor’s question on this issue remained unanswered.
The CDU politician also emphasized that he did not evaluate anyone in his work environment or in his circle of friends and acquaintances “for their sexual orientation.” That is a private matter. “In a liberal society there are different ways of life,” Merz said.
In the past, however, Merz had repeatedly drawn attention with homophobic comments. In 2001, he told the “Bunte” about the then ruling mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit (SPD): “As long as he doesn’t come near me, I don’t care!” In a speech to thousands of CDU supporters in Oberhausen, Merz once said that he had nothing against gay marriage, “as long as I don’t have to participate.”
On his return to politics in 2018, Merz said: “Sexuality is a private matter. Our society has become more tolerant.” And that’s a good thing, Merz added, an allusion to a well-known quote from Wowereit.
