Saxony's Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) has criticized a GDR comparison by Minister President Michael Kretschmer as completely inappropriate. In an interview with the "Rheinische Post" (Friday), the CDU politician described the economic policy of the traffic light coalition as disastrous and felt reminded of the GDR. "That's gross nonsense," said Köpping, who is standing as the top candidate for her party in the state elections. "Most of the time, GDR comparisons are out of the question. And even more so here. After reunification, I experienced first-hand the state of the GDR economy and the effort it took to rebuild it." How can you seriously compare the economic policy of Robert Habeck (Greens) with that of Günter Mittag? Mittag (1926-1994) was the top economic leader in the GDR.
"I understand that the Prime Minister has the urge to comment frequently on everything and everyone. He is welcome to do so. But to badmouth the country in this way and, above all, to denigrate it, is irresponsible," added Köpping. Because Kretschmer's comparison does not stand up to any serious criteria. "The investments alone, for which the federal government is largely responsible, speak a different language. You can't just shout 'Welcome to Saxony TSMC' and then say into every microphone that we are completely on the brink of collapse," explained Köpping with regard to the planned plant of Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC in Dresden.
"Yes, there are problems that we need to solve. But we don't do this by making absurd comparisons that are just looking for the next headline. We do it by working together to find solutions. Both at federal level and here in Saxony. I hope the Minister President will soon find his way back onto a path where this is possible," Köpping concluded.
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