There was a lot of uproar in Germany after Armin Laschet (CDU) was filmed laughing while visiting Irfstadt, which was badly damaged by the storm. Laschet is the state’s prime minister and potential successor to Angela Merkel as chancellor.
Laschet appeared during German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s speech. Standing in the background laughing and talking to a few others, Steinmeier thanks the rescuers and offers his condolences to the victims. Laschet does not cut a good figure with this, it seems in Germany. In the meantime, he also had to apologize for his inappropriate appearance in front of the cameras.
Laschet said he was very impressed with the many conversations on the ground. He is angry with himself because at some point he started laughing. I was on the road all day, and there were emotional conversations that really affected me. That’s why I’m more bored for those few seconds,” Laschet told WDR TV on Sunday night. Laschet said he didn’t hear what Steinmeier had to say.
“It wasn’t appropriate, it wasn’t good for me to laugh at a time like this.” He also lamented the impression he left on Twitter. He said he was only having a conversation at the time. The incident was widely shared on Twitter with the hashtag #Laschetlacht.
The Social Democratic Socialist Party denounced the newspaper picture the incident. The Social Democratic Party sits in the federal government along with the CDU. The liberal FDP was also criticized in the newspaper.
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