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Friday, December 4, 2020
Does broadcasting give the wrong image of the East?
The CDU country chief justifies the coalition’s complaint
By rejecting an increase in the radio license fee, the CDU is testing the government alliance in Saxony-Anhalt. The head of the Union country, Stahlknecht, is now dashing hopes for a compromise from the coalition partners. He cites the representation of the public law of the East as the reason.
In the dispute over the nationwide increase in the transmission rate, the head of the Saxony-Anhalt CDU, Holger Stahlknecht, categorically rules out that his parliamentary group would give in. “That is not negotiable. The CDU will not leave its post,” he told the “Magdeburger Volksstimme.” The CDU state executive decided unanimously.
Stahlknecht justified the no to increase with the image of East Germany in public broadcasting. The stations did not show enough of the transformation process in the East, which caused radical changes in the lives of many people. “Public broadcasters from time to time do not report on an equal footing, but with the index finger raised from moralizing.” The CDU is not about restricting press freedom, Stahlknecht said. But it must be possible to test the structures of those who live on taxpayers’ money.
Controversial point 86 cents
At the moment, all the signs in Magdeburg are that Saxony-Anhalt is using a veto to block the license fee increase by 86 cents to 18.36 euros on January 1, 2021. All state parliaments must agree for the increase to take effect. With the exception of Saxony-Anhalt, they have already done so or have indicated that they will.
Crisis talks have been going on for days between government partners CDU, SPD and Greens in order to reach a unified vote. That is also the goal of Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU). A solution must be found by next Wednesday, then the media committee must decide what voting behavior to recommend to the plenary at the decisive meeting in mid-December.
The coalition is on the brink
If the CDU sticks to its no, the coalition could also vote separately. Christian Democrats have a majority along with the AfD, which also wants to reject it. Haseloff wants to avoid this option. It is not common for coalitions to vote inconsistently on important projects. The SPD and the Greens have already announced that in a joint CDU-AfD veto they no longer see any basis for the continuation of the coalition that has been in power since 2016.
Recently, the CDU of Saxony-Anhalt has repeatedly stressed that it is in favor of public broadcasting, but considers it too expensive and too big. The AfD rejects not only an increase in premiums, but the contribution system as a whole. Critics complain that Magdeburg’s Christian Democrats would pave the way for right-wing populists with a joint vote.
FDP President Christian Lindner called on the CDU parliamentary group in Magdeburg to distance itself from the AfD. “I can only appeal to the Union not to approach the AfD,” said Lindner of the “Rheinische Post” in Düsseldorf. “This is not about pennies on the radio license, the AfD is about resentment against an alleged lying press.”
