In Soltau, two candidates will negotiate their entry into the Bundestag: Lars Klingbeil from the SPD and Carsten Büttinghaus from the CDU. Büttinghaus, policeman and hunter, advertises with the slogan: “Our home. Our earth. Your choice. ”His opponent in the Heide duel is the SPD general secretary. Klingbeil was born in Soltau, Büttinghaus comes from Thuringia - point for Klingbeil. Around Soltau, however, the heather is more black than red, which is why Klingbeil has to fight for his mandate until the last second. He won it straight away in 2017, "a very special moment that I would like to repeat," says Klingbeil. In addition, of course, you also need a bit of luck - or a visit from Olaf Scholz at the last minute. Büttinghaus suggests in his campaign,that Klingbeil would move into the Bundestag anyway via a safe list place: “Character place instead of list place” is his motto.
Peter Carstens
Political correspondent in Berlin
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Klingbeil holds against it.
If the SPD in Lower Saxony gets a lot of direct mandates on Sunday, it could be that the state list does not come into play.
So Klingbeil has to win his constituency.
And that's why Scholz traveled to Soltau on Tuesday.
The city, north of Hanover, has 20,000 inhabitants.
Scholz came a little earlier, he now completes three or four events a day.
Like on Tuesday: first Wolfsburg, then Lehrte, in the afternoon Soltau, then on to Lüneburg for the evening event.
The curiosity about Scholz has increased
Scholz has been completing this program every day for weeks. The evening glass of wine or a beer among comrades was canceled. "I concentrate completely on non-alcoholic beer," says Scholz, it would not be possible any other way. A journalist wants to know what he's reading on Tuesday before it goes to the election stage. In all honesty, it isn't much, says Scholz, when he comes home after midnight. But next to the bed is a part of a Hegel biography, very good, you could tell the author.
Now the world spirit first steps onto the stage. Around 800 citizens have gathered inside the barriers, another one to two hundred are watching from outside. The curiosity about Scholz has grown strongly since the SPD came close to being a chancellor again. There isn't much around it: a stage, a couple of Klingbeil posters. Scholz speaks first, then the constituency candidate. Scholz has meanwhile given his standard speech dozens of times, promising more apartments, climate protection with a sense of proportion ("the Greens have good ideas, but an implementation problem"), but revolutionary. Scholz calculates that a steelworks of the future will consume as much energy as a large city, Hamburg for example. A lot of wind power and a kind of innovation storm are needed.One of the promises for the first year of government is a “wage increase for ten million people”, that is, the increase in the minimum wage to twelve euros. He wants to ensure that, together with the unions. To do this, you have to “knock on people like me who earn a little better and ask if they want to make a slightly higher contribution. I'll say: yes. "
Friendly applause in Soltau. In between there is a little riot because a few climate activists are trying to storm the stage. Four years ago there were many troublemakers from the right at rallies; this time it is left-wing activists who want to force attention. Scholz's security guards are faster than the troublemakers and the Soltau police. Scholz says a few soothing words to the young people who are holding a hunger strike for the climate in Berlin. Please stop this, there will be talks. The political competitors are almost completely unmentioned. A few friendly swipes at the Greens, hardly any comments on the Union.
After Scholz, Klingbeil once again draws attention to the seriousness of his situation and the escalation that the election campaign is now about to experience: "Anyone who wants the next Chancellor of the Federal Republic to be Olaf Scholz should put his cross with the SPD" - and that he means, of course with him as a direct candidate. After the speeches, Klingbeil reads out questions from the audience that could previously be submitted on cards. What about Corona and the schools, why do we have no internet here, how can you close the gap between rich and poor again? Election campaign arena in Soltau. When asked with whom he would like to form a coalition, Lars Klingbeil answered openly: “I want a coalition with the citizens.” Applause from the audience. It's slowly getting dark outside, Scholz drives on.Lars Klingbeil continues to fight in the constituency and for the big campaign. See you on Sunday.