SPD Chancellor candidate Martin Schulz spoke to a crowd of around 1,400 people in Gelsenkirchen, on Wednesday, where he positioned himself as the candidate for poorer Germans and for women.
SOT, Martin Schulz, SPD Chancellor candidate (German): “Angela Merkel and Horst Seehofer lead a conservative block in this country, and we must state clearly that there are differences between them and us, because that phrase ‘Germany is doing well’ doesn’t mean that every person is doing well. The phrase ‘Germany is a prosperous country’ doesn’t mean that every person is prosperous. On the contrary, in this country people, well-settled people, are living in poverty. Two salaries are not enough to cope with the rise in rents. We want to enforce rent limits; we want to stop the exorbitant rents.”
SOT, Martin Schulz, SPD Chancellor candidate (German): “And when one really looks at in, women are penalised twice over. When they go out [of work], to take care of their children, or their parents in need, or their spouse, then they can’t come back to their former salary, because they are stuck with the halved income, then this halved income leads to a diminished pension. They are doubly penalised. And, because of this, there is a clear message here: the right to return, from part-time to full-time. That will be implemented by a Social Democratic Bundestag. And it’ll be done quickly. And I would like to add that it’s surprising that this is being blocked by a woman. From Ms. Angela Merkel. It was her personally.”
SOT, Martin Schulz, SPD Chancellor candidate (German): “I am also from this dual employment system. I did a commercial apprenticeship, and I learnt while on the job and, in the end – or at the same time – I went to a vocational college. It was a high level qualification. I have to read particularly intelligent journalists, who offer particularly good commentary, pose the question, whether I can be chancellor because I don’t have a high school certificate. The question, ‘Can one be the German Chancellor without a high school certificate?’ And my answer is, ‘Yes, one can.’ And on 24th September, we’ll do this.”