In a TV debate ahead of the Baden-Württemberg state election, Greens' Cem Özdemir defended CDU top candidate Manuel Hagel against allegations over an old video. The debate featuring Hagel, Özdemir, and AfD candidate Markus Frohnmaier took place on SWR, while protests against AfD participation occurred outside. Polls show a tight race between CDU and Greens.
The Baden-Württemberg state election on March 8, 2026, is approaching, and the campaign is heating up. On Tuesday evening, top candidates Manuel Hagel (CDU), Cem Özdemir (Greens), and Markus Frohnmaier (AfD) debated in the SWR program "Die Debatte – wer überzeugt Baden-Württemberg?". FDP, SPD, and Left were not invited due to weak poll numbers. Current polls give CDU 28 percent, Greens 22 percent, and AfD 20 percent. Possible coalitions would be black-green or a continuation of green-black.
Outside the Stuttgart studio, dozens protested against AfD candidate Frohnmaier's participation. The debate remained vague on issues like the economy. Toward the end, Frohnmaier raised an old video of Hagel: A clip from spring 2018 shows Hagel, then 29-year-old CDU general secretary, in an interview for "Auf ein Bier mit". He describes a school visit to a secondary school where 80 percent of the class were girls. "So there are worse appointments for 29-year-old deputies than this," he said, adding: "I'll never forget, the first question, her name was Eva, brown hair, doe-brown eyes."
The video was recently posted on X by Greens MP Zoe Mayer. She criticized: "What does an adult man mean by saying it's a particularly nice appointment when he's in a classroom with at most 16-year-olds?" Hagel responded: "The entry for this 2018 interview was crap. My wife washed my head right away. Dr. Mayer comes with this 12 days before the state election eight years too late."
Frohnmaier asked Özdemir if he could still envision cooperation with CDU despite the video. Özdemir defended Hagel: "I'm sure Mr. Hagel wouldn't phrase it that way today. Besides, I think we're agreed that women should be judged like men: by their performance, nothing else." He emphasized fairness in the campaign and gave Hagel a chance to speak, who explained the context: Student Eva had criticized politicians' speeches, and he talked to her later. Özdemir concluded: "Hagel said he wouldn't say it that way today. And that applies to me."
