What would your name be if you were a dragon?

Merkel’s successor answered this question well. When he had to answer whether his classmate was a Nazi, things really went wrong.

Is Putin evil, the two 11-year-olds asked.

Olaf Schultz sat in front of the children’s reporters. He is one of the candidates in the elections for the chancellor of Germany. It will be held in less than a week, September 26th. Should he win, Schulz will take charge after 16 years with Angela Merkel in the driving seat.

In recent weeks, he and other German politicians have traveled around the country. They have answered themselves in many interviews. On Tuesday of this week, children’s questions were on sale:

“Putin is responsible for the fact that many people in Russia fear for their lives,” Schultz said in a pragmatic manner.

The children said they were happy with the answer. This did not last long. And Schulze wasn’t the only one who had to enter the fire.

grilled senior politicians

The next question on the list was why children are drowning in the sea because they want to go to Germany. Nearly 900 people have died or disappeared this year while crossing the Mediterranean on their way to Europe.

“Many of them travel on unsafe roads,” Schulz replied.

Then the kids wanted to know why Germany didn’t send a plane to pick them up, so they escaped the dangerous journey.

“One should try to save them and make their home countries safer,” Schultz said.

Journalists were not as pleased with him as Putin’s response. However, Schulz, who represents the SPD, can say then that the round of questions has gone smoothly.

The same cannot be said of opposition candidate Armin Laschet. He, too, was interrogated by 11-year-olds.

The CDU is led by the Christian Democrats. He’s been doing it since January of this year. Previously, Angela Merkel held the position. The party had hoped to follow her example in the role of chancellor.

But in recent months, many have questioned whether it is a good fit for her. The reason is a number of political errors. This may have affected party support. Plunge like a stone.

The question now is whether the interview with 11-year-olds will be added to Laschet’s list of errors.

“Why are you laughing?”

Set for a fun evening. In the hollow lap of a teepee tent, surrounded by teddy bears, scramblers, and dim lights, the interview began easily enough. Questions like “what would your name be if you were a dragon”, and “do you build a cave sometimes when you want to be alone” aren’t the most confrontational.

That changed when the 11-year-olds said three little words:

– Why are you laughing?

This hit the nerve. The question referred to an incident that occurred during the flood disaster in Germany this summer. At least 150 people were killed, and thousands lost their homes.

One of the worst affected areas was the city of Irfastadt. It is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Laschet holds the position of Prime Minister. He went there to meet flood victims a few days after the tragedy. With him was German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

As he spoke, Laschet stood in the background. and laughed.

When the 11-year-olds asked about the accident, Laschet smiled wildly.

– I laughed because I made a stupid comment. He explained that this was stupidity.

– Can you be a consultant if you don’t know how to behave, the children’s journalists asked then.

– No, Laschet replied, impatiently.

– But I know how to act.

The children also asked about Lachet’s smoking habit. He is known to take cigarillo every now and then. The kids said it wasn’t healthy. Laschet agreed, but defended the habit of not inhaling smoke. Besides, there’s a lot that isn’t healthy, he continued.

Behavior questions didn’t stop there.

Nazis are not welcome

Laschet was also asked about his attitude towards Hans-Georg Maassen. He is a controversial man in Germany. He previously commanded the country’s security service, the BfV. In 2018, he was fired.

Three years later he became a member of the CDU and is the party’s candidate in Thuringia. However, it has garnered the most attention due to a number of statements that have been described as right-wing extremists.

Laschet has previously disagreed with many of Maassen’s statements, but has not distanced himself from them publicly. He believes it is up to the voters.

The 11-year-olds still want an answer as to whether Maassen is a far-rightist. The question ushered in a chaotic session. Instead of answering, Laschet asked:

– do you know him?

– Yes, answered one of the correspondent children.

Laschet asked why he is Yamini.

– I ask you, answered the 11-year-old. Then he asked the child if Maassen was a Nazi.

Then the chancellor’s candidate had to think about it.

If someone says he’s a Nazi, that’s unfair. Nazis are not welcome in the party.

creates feedback

On Thursday, two days after the interview was broadcast on ProSieben TV, Laschet expressed his displeasure with the programme.

He said the kids had earplugs where the adults whispered questions to ask and described them all as “a special form.”

“Kids don’t talk like that,” he said.

A ProSieben spokesperson confirmed that children have earplugs. He said of course they did woman. He said this technique is used by most adult television reporters, and he wondered why 11-year-olds were denied the usual help.

The interviews by Schulze and Lachette received great attention in German newspapers and social media. But it is the latter that has been subjected to the most criticism.

There is now great excitement about whether the incident will affect the party’s polls in the past week before the election. The Social Democratic Party led with 25.6 percent. According to the CDU, it came in behind with 21.7%. Overview of The Guardians.

Thus, the CDU is preparing to make its worst choice in decades.