CDU leader Friedrich Merz defended his arrival by private plane to the wedding of Finance Minister Christian Lindner. He doesn’t regret having come by plane, said Merz on Sunday in the ZDF “summer interview”. “To put it in a nutshell: With this small plane I use less fuel than any official car of a member of the federal government. And that’s why I fly.” He uses his plane primarily for professional purposes. “I stand by it and it’s, if you will, an old dream of mine. Always has been.”
The pictures of Merz and his wife Charlotte made headlines in early July. The CDU leader drove the machine himself to Sylt, where FDP leader Lindner and political reporter Franca Lehfeldt got married.
Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) replied on Twitter on Sunday evening. As a member of the federal government addressed by Friedrich Merz, he allowed himself a quick fact check: “My company car is an electric car and therefore does not consume any fuel at all. Neither does my bike,” wrote Özdemir and posted a wink smiley.