TV Review Anne Will: Hartz IV gone? Not with this coalition agreement!

faFor Andrea Nahles, the news of Horst Seehofer's retirement comes at the wrong time. Because in the current Grand Coalition crisis, two of the three party leaders at the head of the coalition have announced their withdrawal. And the president of the SPD sits a little later as a guest at Anne Will and has to answer the question of their own departure.

But the interpretation of retirement by Nahles is different: with the CSU, the last popular party was renewed. She was already counting her takeover of the SPD presidency in April. "She definitely does not want to retire," says Nahles. "The SPD chose this path very often and the things that needed to be clarified, can not clarify." This is a shortcut, which has not brought anything.

With the announcement by Horst Seehofer to step down from the CSU leadership, the debate on Anne Will begins Sunday night. The theme is the loss of power of the popular parties, the guests are also the Minister of Economy, Peter Altmaier, Jürgen Trittin of the Greens, Christoph Schwennicke of Cicero and the political scientist Ursula Münch.

Trittin believes that Seehofer, under the presidency of the CSU, should also entrust the Ministry of the Interior. This is not automatic, against Altmaier. "Angela Merkel also remains Chancellor until the end of the legislature," said the political leader of the CDU. Ursula Münch points out that even if the Chancellor decides who is a member of her cabinet. But CSU should push for a new post in Berlin.

Relieved that Seehofer could then go as Minister of the Interior, Nahles is not. She falls silent, then replies, "Let's see what's coming". The most promising candidate for his succession is Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder. Nahles and Söder have been busy since the beginning of their political career in the youth organizations Juso and JU. "It worked that way," she says about the relationship.

Does Kramp-Karrenbauer have the necessary hardness?

"The new start is long overdue," said Schwennicke, Cicero's chief editor. Seehofer's resignation had already appeared after the Bayern elections – and the result of Hesse had also had a positive impact on Merkel. Now, the CDU settles its succession – another topic of the discussion.

The candidates Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Friedrich Merz present themselves differently from those known until now: Merz Social, Kramp-Karrenbauer more conservative. As it is credible, asks Anne Will.

"If you want to become president or president of the CDU, you have to deal with different topics," said Ms Münch. "The CDU is still a popular party." Schwennicke also believes that Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer must show firmness in order to succeed in her candidacy because she is perceived here as a "mini-Merkel".

Kramp-Karrenbauer has already delivered this. He called for a ban on entry of asylum seekers who became criminals for the entire Schengen area and did not fundamentally rule out deportations to Syria . "I think it's totally irresponsible to send people there," says Jürgen Trittin. "Sachpolitisch, I do not take this seriously." The proposal would only ultimately help the AfD.

Altmaier points out that the candidates performed well before the candidacy. Kramp-Karrenbauer, Minister of the Interior Saarland, held difficult positions. Merz is geared towards Helmuth Kohl or even Joschka Fischer in European politics. "Popular parties must not divide," said the Minister of Economic Affairs. "It will not be a directional decision."

"Popular parties have lost contact with the people"

Nahles and Trittin fear that the dispute over the leadership of the CDU after the party conference in Hamburg will continue. The Greens MP reminds Gerhard Schröder and Oskar Lafontaine, whose fate has shown that the separation of the party presidency and the Chancellery does not last long.

Schwennicke, editor of Cicero, believes that an election in Merz could bring more clarity between the Union and the SPD. Anne Will's team interviewed its members about the CDU candidates at the SPD debate camp. The result: with SPahn and Kramp-Karrenbauer, the SPD could work better together, in Merz, work better – and thus strengthen the SPD. Nahles does not want to comment on these thoughts, not to give notice.

The end is fundamentally on the decline of popular parties – a discussion that has been so often conducted with badysis and appropriate arguments. These include an overview of other European countries, a comparison with the Weimar Republic and the reference to the diverse and individualistic society that has become German.

Another statement by the political scientist Münch: "Popular parties have lost the reference in the people". One of the reasons is a professionalization of the election campaign to the detriment of the members. "The parties act as state apparatus."

Does the left pressure of the SPD put the GroKo in danger?

Therefore, Andrea Nahles is committed to involving members and voters more strongly. "For me, getting back to basics means doing more work at the grbadroots," she says. But still follow the usual phrases of recent years: focus on topics. Good material work. Social justice. So what the SPD has been doing for years and what the voter still does not reward.

Nahles promises a general overhaul of the welfare state until 2025. The self-employed and civil servants should contribute to the pension insurance, she says. Basic security must be repositioned, leaving the SPD behind Hartz IV. This is not in the coalition agreement, Altmaier responds immediately.

Is SPD left pressure threatening the grand coalition? No, said Nahles. "If we implement the projects together, the coalition will be able to function until the end of the legislature," said the president of the SPD. "The big tension in the air is to know if it will succeed."