Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Since his washcloth advice on saving water, Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann has had to endure one or the other sharp comment. The Greens politician increasingly accompanies the longer debate about his actually rather casual statement with a wink. For the political Ash Wednesday in Biberach an der Riss, the head of government brought several collector’s items from his now quite extensive collection of washcloths, including a gift from the Free State.
The washcloth with the white and blue diamonds was a gift from the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), Kretschmann told his amused around 600 party friends. From a paper carrier bag, the Green also dug out a rag with the inscription “Washing by the hand, saving energy for the country!” (Washing by hand saves energy”). Another copy: a washcloth in XXL format and the imprint “The Läpp für Winni”, which Kretschmann received as a gift from the fools during the carnival week.
He now has a whole collection of highly original examples of fabric, said the Green politician. With his brief insight into his own morning routine, he made a very personal contribution to saving energy – “and to the culture of cleanliness in Baden-Württemberg,” said Kretschmann.
Kretschmann had said in mid-August, with a view to the energy crisis, that you don’t have to shower all the time, that the washcloth is also a “useful invention”. With the statement he had caused quite a stir. Among other things, he had to listen to the fact that he wanted to patronize citizens and set wrong priorities. Kretschmann later added that he had been using a washcloth for a long time.
