Matthias Miersch on “Maischberger”: A Whirlwind Debut – Confidence Without the Flair!
Let’s dive into the curious case of Matthias Miersch, the new general secretary of the SPD. Just a week into his new gig, and he’s already bursting onto the scene like a kid after too much sugar. On Maischberger, he faced off against CDU’s Thorsten Frei and showed us all that politics doesn’t have to be dull—although Miersch did a splendid job of proving it could be painfully muddled at times.
Confident Yet Cautious
Now, make no mistake, Miersch was confident! He strolled onto the stage as if he owned the place, reminiscent of a cat that’s just knocked over your favorite vase and is now pretending it was all part of the plan. His self-assured stance was commendable, almost commendably humorous! However, he treaded carefully. He claimed Boris Pistorius would make a good chancellor, but hesitated as if he’d just suggested using pineapple on pizza—questionable territory! “We have a chancellor,” he added, like a parent trying to convince their child that no, that weird food in the fridge is not coming back for a second round anytime soon.
Spelling it Out…
It’s like watching someone try to assemble IKEA furniture without the instructions. Miersch wants to convince us he’s smart (he is), but sometimes his words tangled into a web of confusion. He was defending the party’s economic plan with all the finesse of a newborn giraffe trying to stand up. You could practically hear the gears grinding as he claimed the “working middle” should see some financial relief while the “rich” should start donating their excess wealth like a particularly aggressive charity event. Look, buddy, I love a good re-distribution of wealth as much as the next socialist, but you’ve got to make it sound exciting! He admitted a previous wealth tax had been kicked out in 1997 like bad sushi, and now they’re thinking of reinstating it. “Back from the dead!” sounds more like a horror movie tagline than an effective campaign slogan.
Numbers, Numbers, Everywhere… And Not a Drop to Drink!
Then we dove into some arithmetic. Miersch threw around numbers like confetti at a wedding—66,761 euros in income and 42% taxes, while the rich folks over 278,000 euros must pay 48%. Is there a hidden camera? Are they trying to prank us? Look, I flunked math, but even I know that playing with tax rates requires a bit of finesse and vision! Miersch announced the SPD’s brilliant plan to not just tax the rich but to tax them more. Shocking, right? It’s like claiming you found a new way to cook an egg. Sure, it’s different, but everyone knows how to make an omelet!
Frei’s Reaction: The Calculated Comedian
Then enters Thorsten Frei, like a well-timed punchline at a tedious dinner party. He critiqued Miersch’s economic plans while looking as if he’d just bitten into something sour. Apparently, the SPD plans won’t save us from the looming economic disaster according to Frei, who’s suddenly transformed into the financial oracle of modern German politics. I half expected him to pull out a crystal ball and whisper, “The future is not bright.” His numbers flew around the studio like confetti as he argued that the top tax rate should jump to 60%—I mean, if we’re going to dream, let’s dream big, right?!
The Lively Debate
The back-and-forth reached a delightful crescendo. Miersch defended his party’s draft, adding that it was still a work in progress, like a painting by a toddler—endearing, but still very much not done. Frei, of course, was having none of it, claiming such plans could drive jobs abroad faster than you can say “economic exodus.” Miersch called it an “insinuation,” which I assume is political jargon for “that’s just mean!” And as both men debated, it was more entertaining than an episode of Game of Thrones—a lot of shouting, some wild claims, and absolutely no resolution!
Conclusion: What’s Next?
In conclusion, Miersch’s debut on Maischberger was a rollercoaster of assurance mixed with nervous stumbles and a sprinkle of confusion. He may not have dazzled us with rhetoric on par with a Shakespearean tragicomedy, but hey, he gave it his all—blunders included! It’s clear he’s still finding his footing, and it might take a few more episodes for him to hit his stride. But I can’t help but feel that if he keeps this up, the political game just might get a bit more interesting. Here’s to Miersch: may he find his punchlines before the next big debate!
Miersch at “Maischberger” Confident, honest, but not bold
By Marko Schlichting October 16, 2024, 5:23 a.m. Listen to article
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Matthias Miersch has been general secretary of the SPD for a good week. On Tuesday evening he can show what he can do on a big stage for the first time at “Maischberger”. He masters the discussion with CDU politician Thorsten Frei convincingly.
Boris Pistorius would be a good chancellor, says Matthias Miersch. The SPD general secretary needs some time to realize what he just said, so he adds: “But we have a chancellor.” And the traffic light has a lot to do in the next week.
Miersch has been the new general secretary of the SPD for just over a week. On Tuesday evening he made his first talk show appearance in his new role on “Maischberger” on Erste. He appears confident and self-assured and masters the discussion with the first managing director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei, not with flying colors, but convincingly.
Miersch does what his predecessor Kevin Kühnert did – and what his job is: he represents his party. Both Social Democrats actually belong to the left wing of the SPD. However, when they took office they had to put their own convictions aside.
The SPD’s economic plans
However, during his first talk show appearance, differences also become clear. Miersch is confident in the topic and has prepared well. Every now and then he makes a little joke. But one thing is obvious: he is not an esthete like Kühnert. He was able to formulate sentences from start to finish in written German, with lots of intricacies.
Miersch’s sentences are not nearly as polished as those of his predecessor. He speaks as he thinks: straightforwardly, freely. However, what he says is sometimes not easy to understand. Especially when he defended the SPD board’s draft on economic and tax policy at the beginning of the discussion. He seems a little nervous.
The “working middle” should have more money in their pockets, while the “rich” should give away more, says Miersch. This is one of the demands with which the SPD wants to go into the federal election campaign. Specifically, the Social Democrats are thinking about reintroducing the wealth tax. It had existed in Germany for a good hundred years and had put a lot of money into the state’s pockets. However, in 1997 she was “abandoned”.
Frei calls for Agenda 2030
Now the SPD wants to tax the income and assets of rich people again. “First of all, we made a fundamental political decision on the board at the weekend,” says Miersch. “We want to relieve the burden on 95 percent of the population, the workers, who are and have been under inflationary pressure in our country. And now it really depends on how you relieve the burden and how you burden it.” This discussion is the fine work that now lies before the SPD.
What Miersch means becomes clearer a little later: If a person living alone has a taxable income of 66,761 euros per year, they have to pay 42 percent. For partners, the limit is 133,521 euros. From around 278,000 euros for single earners, the rich tax rate of currently 45 percent only applies. Anyone above this rate will pay this maximum rate, even if they earn millions. The SPD finds this unfair. She wants to tax higher incomes more heavily. “We first set a target and said that with an annual income of 278,000 euros, the top tax rate could rise to 48 percent,” says Miersch. “That is under discussion, but that is the fundamental political decision that the board has made.”
Although the CDU also thought about reintroducing the wealth tax about a year and a half ago, Thorsten Frei criticized the SPD board’s idea. After the Agenda 2010 launched by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, we now need an Agenda 2030, he says. This is the only way Germany can get out of the current economic crisis.
“Let’s just wait and see”
“But we don’t see any government party that has the strength to implement such an Agenda 2030,” says Frei. He refers to CDU leader Friedrich Merz. In another talk show he calculated that the top tax rate would have to be increased by 60 percent in order to relieve the burden on 95 percent of taxpayers. Frei further calculates: If the top tax rate were increased by one percentage point, up to 1.5 billion euros would come out for the remaining earners. The SPD’s plans would bring a maximum of 9 billion euros, but around 15 billion would be needed. It remains unclear where Frei gets the basis for his calculations.
Miersch defends himself by saying that the SPD has initially presented a draft that is still being developed. Then you could discuss it with the Union.
But Frei has even more points of criticism. The SPD’s plans do not relieve the burden on German companies. “If you were to implement that, it would drive hundreds of thousands of jobs abroad. And that’s why it’s so harmful, that’s why it’s so anti-performance,” he says. Miersch calls this an insinuation. The SPD wants to invest in companies. The SPD board’s plan would stipulate that “there would then be a ‘super special depreciation’, which would then also stimulate the economy.” And he adds: “Let’s just wait and see what this concept looks like.”
