Greens continue "#ThisPeople" campaign

After a verbal attack by Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on his Green coalition partner, the latter is now using the head of government's words in his own cause. "We will continue the #DieseLeute campaign in the coming weeks and show various personalities who belong to "These people"," the party announced on Friday on request. Kretschmer had said on Tuesday at a regional conference of the CDU in Riesa with regard to the Greens: "I may not particularly like these people and I do not like their way of life." But he meets them as a human being and respects "that these people have been elected."

Since Wednesday, the Greens have been countering under the hashtag #ThesePeople on the platform X (formerly Twitter) and other media, posting photos of themselves, for example. "We show self-confidently who "these people" are, about whom the prime minister mocks. We turn the tables: these people are people like you and me. People who are involved in many different ways in Saxony and throughout the country: from craftsmen to teachers to Fridays for Future activists," party chairwoman Marie Müser told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "These people" would ensure social cohesion, she added: "The best thing about this country is precisely the diversity of the people who live here."

"The prime minister is trying to put a stamp on "these people" that does not correspond to reality. These people eat meat, but don't need it every day. They ride bicycles, but also make trips in the family station wagon. They volunteer, but also love an evening of Netflix on the sofa. They work in the office, in the workshop, in the lab or with the police," said Christin Furtenbacher, the second state chairwoman, describing the normality of her party.