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Left Party leader Janine Wissler on Christian Lindner: "Intolerable as a minister"

Photo: IMAGO / Frank Gaeth

The farmers welcomed Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with a whistling concert. In the aftermath, the words he addressed to the protesting farmers are now also causing criticism.

Left Party leader Janine Wissler is even calling for Lindner's resignation. "A federal minister who stands in front of protesting farmers and does not make a single suggestion to their concerns, but instead agitates against the unemployed and refugees ("'money for doing nothing'") is not only rightly booed, he is intolerable as a minister," she told SPIEGEL.

Instead of dealing with the demands and criticism of the failed agricultural policy of the traffic light, Lindner is conducting a diversionary debate. Lindner tries to play people off against each other and incite them.

"This is politically irresponsible and humanly disgusting," Wissler said. "In this situation, anyone who promotes social division and a loss of solidarity in order to distract from the failure of the traffic light has completely lost the compass."

The speech at the farmers' protests was another low point. "As with the cancellation of the climate money, Lindner is targeting benefit recipients," said Wissler. On Sunday, it became known that Lindner does not want to pay out the promised climate money, with which the traffic light coalition wanted to support citizens, until after the next federal election.

kfr/buc