Ms. Baerbock, you saw the devastating consequences of the flood with your own eyes.

Is the help that the state is now providing enough?

Jasper von Altenbockum

Responsible editor for domestic politics.

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Mona Jaeger

Deputy Editor in Charge of News.

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Berthold Kohler

Editor.

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People have lost everything. Many of their loved ones, others all of their belongings. That gets under my skin. I was at an elderly couple's house that was badly damaged. The cellar was full of oil because the flood had torn out the tank. Daycare centers were destroyed elsewhere. Tens of thousands in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate are still without drinking water. Companies are faced with the situation that they can no longer continue to work. The emergency aid that the Federal Cabinet has now approved is correct. But that's not enough. We also want to set up a larger support fund for the affected areas for municipal reconstruction. And we have to take precautions: for many people, the house is their retirement provision. We have to protect that better.Similar to energetic building renovation, homeowners should therefore be supported with KfW loans or tax deductibility if they want to protect their house against extreme weather with structural measures.

Who is responsible for the death of so many people?

The unpredictable thing about disasters and such extreme weather events is that they cannot be fully foreseen.

But we have to look carefully at why everyone was not warned in time or why help came too late.

Politics has a responsibility to protect people.

My suggestion: In the case of supra-regional disasters, the federal government should play a stronger coordinating role with the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance.

And it is not enough to just promise climate protection, it also needs a federal government that does it consistently.

Is it still possible to campaign happily under the impression of this catastrophe?


At the moment of the disaster, it is not about party political issues, but about emergency aid directly on site. That is why I made a conscious decision to drive to the crisis regions without cameras. The consequences of the events vividly show what is at stake if our country does not take precautions in good time. That needs to change. This is also what the general election is about: Who can people trust that this provision will come? Our fellow citizens have a right to know who wants to invest and how to better protect the population. In addition to emergency aid and subsidies, we also want to provide enough money to better support municipalities with flood protection, for example. I propose a pension fund for municipalities.And of course you need a strong climate protection program.


You want to become Federal Chancellor. So far nothing of this claim can be seen on their posters. Are you afraid of your own courage?