Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius has indirectly confirmed that Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has issued an internal caution against making political demands of the federal government via interviews with the Bild newspaper.
Responding to inquiries from the dts news agency on Wednesday, Kornelius stated that the Chancellor’s remarks were made within a private setting. He emphasized that the Chancellor had not made these statements publicly and therefore he would not further elaborate on the matter.
The Bild newspaper reported in its Tuesday edition that the Chancellor had instructed members of his party to refrain from speaking to the publication if they desired their demands to be addressed. Several representatives within the CDU/CSU parliamentary group reportedly indicated that the statement was particularly aimed at the Ministers-President of North Rhine-Westphalia (Hendrik Wüst) and Hesse (Boris Rhein), both CDU members. Both had previously used the Bild newspaper to advocate for a reduction in electricity tax for all citizens, a measure originally stipulated in the governing coalition agreement.
