A little over a year ago, the North Rhine-Westphalian Social Democrats were bobbing in the polling hell valley;

only 18 percent determined the pollsters for them.

Party and parliamentary group leader Thomas Kutschaty desperately struggled to somehow get through to the media.

That's when the opposition leader came up with the idea of ​​teasing the state government with the help of Markus Söder (CSU).

At that time, many still considered the Bavarian Prime Minister to be the grand master of fighting the pandemic.

That's why Kuchaty seemed sure of being able to score points quickly on the boulevard.

Pure burger

Political correspondent in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Black and yellow must take Söder as a role model and also get the Russian vaccine Sputnik V for NRW, the social democrat demanded briskly.

Kuschaty attached a photo of himself with the slogan "Use new opportunities with Sputnik V" to his message.

Söder's absurd Sputnik show quickly turned out to be a vain number, and Kuchaty did not repeat his request.

The matter seemed to have slipped into oblivion.

But now the CDU remembers Kuchaty's Sputnik quick shot with great pleasure.

In the final sprint before the state elections, the CDU and SPD are neck and neck in the polls, each at around 30 percent.

So far, the SPD has benefited from the fact that it has been leading a federal traffic light government since the fall.

But the dissatisfaction of the citizens with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is growing.

The North Rhine-Westphalian Union wants to take advantage of this in the remaining three weeks.

Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) complained for the first time a few days ago that the SPD is isolating Germany more and more with its "slow and delayed support for Ukraine".

While Wüst had previously held back from direct attacks on the Social Democrats, he now accused them of a “sustainable Putin problem”.

In the past they were too close to Russia, which still paralyzes them today.

"To make NRW dependent on Russia"

There is no far-reaching social-democratic connection to Russia like in Lower Saxony with the former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig in NRW, but CDU people are trying to make the connection to the largest state association of the SPD – and they get it including Kutschaty's Sputnik photo from April 2021, just right.

Among other things, the former Secretary General Paul Ziemiak spread it on Twitter and commented: "What Thomas Kutschaty meant: With Sputnik V finally use the new opportunity to make NRW dependent on Russia."

The "SPD's Putin problem" is also the leitmotif at the official CDU election campaign start on Saturday in Düsseldorf.

Bodo Löttgen, head of the CDU parliamentary group, sets the tone: “Anyone who, like Thomas Kutschaty, advocated vaccinating Sputnik V a year ago and supports Manuela Schwesig is completely unsuitable for a government office.” She wants to use a questionnaire CDU keep things simmering, give the impression that somehow Kuchaty is part of the Russia connection.

Among other things, Löttgen demands information about what the SPD’s top candidate knows about the climate foundation, which is essentially equipped with Russian funds and with which Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania pursued a secondary foreign policy to save the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

The CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz is concentrating on the chancellor in Düsseldorf.

To this day, Scholz has not explained exactly what the "turn of the era" is.

In the event that Scholz does not explain his government course and position on the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine in a government statement, the Union has prepared an application.

Already today there is a majority in the Bundestag from the CDU/CSU, Greens and FDP for arms deliveries.

"If the Chancellor has difficulties with the Russia network in his party, we are ready to help him," said Merz.

"The procrastination of the Chancellor and the SPD is a terrible mistake," agrees Prime Minister Wüst - and immediately makes the link to NRW again.

"Everyone can see that the SPD obviously has a problem with Putin.

“No one defends Schwesig for their bogus foundation anymore.

"Except for Mr. Kuchaty.

The NRW-SPD also has a problem with Russia.”