CDU leader Friedrich Merz has rejected criticism of a speech by speed skater and federal police officer Claudia Pechstein in her civil servant’s uniform at an event held by his party.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has rejected criticism of a speech by speed skater and federal police officer Claudia Pechstein in her civil servant’s uniform at an event held by his party. “The performance was brilliant,” said Merz on Sunday evening in the ZDF program “Berlin direct”. Based on her experience, Pechstein explained how important clubs and popular sports are. “Honestly, that really interests me, I don’t care about the outside.”
The discussion about Pechstein’s appearance shows “the externals we are discussing,” Merz continued. Instead, he was concerned with the content. “It was really interesting and it also motivated us a bit to continue working in this direction.”
The speed skater and federal police officer who is politically active for the CDU triggered criticism with her appearance in uniform. The federal police have therefore already initiated a “legal examination”. According to civil service law, civil servants must behave neutrally in public and may not mix official activities with private political activities.
The question is whether Pechstein could have broken this rule by appearing in uniform on Saturday. Representatives of the SPD, the Greens and the Left have already expressed their views accordingly.
Pechstein spoke at the CDU party convention in Berlin on Saturday, where the party discussed positions for a basic program. She gave a keynote speech lasting several minutes, in which she expressed her opinions on various topics ranging from sports and club work to family policy and migration policy issues. Among other things, she spoke out in favor of the deportation of asylum seekers who had been legally rejected and linked this point with the expectation of “more security in everyday life”.
These and other aspects of Pechstein’s lecture, which was broadcast on television, such as critical statements on the relevance of gender in comparison to other political issues, also caused criticism from the other parties.
Pechstein comes from Berlin and became known as an internationally highly successful speed skater. She won five Olympic gold medals alone, and was also European and world champion. She is also a federal police officer. In the 2021 federal election, she ran for the CDU as a direct candidate in the Berlin constituency of Treptow-Köpenick against the former left-wing parliamentary group leader Gregor Gysi. He won the constituency.