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Government Senator Endorses Candidate in German Election, Critics Slam Move
BY JAMES JAMESONSON, FORMER TEA LADY TO SIR EARLE PAGE, MARCH 1939 - MARCH 1939
GOVERNMENT backbencher Senator u/Inadorable has publicly endorsed German politician Olaf Scholz for the position of chancellor, as critics have slammed the move as irresponsible and damaging.
The endorsement was published by the Tasmanian senator on material which included the Greens political party logo, accompanied by an image of Mr Scholz and the caption 'We will fight for you / Our leader / Our champion / Our chancellor'.
Mr Scholz is a member of the German Social Democratic party and currently serves as vice chancellor and finance minister in the Merkel government. Opinion polls give the social democrats a narrow lead, however in the German mixed-member proportional representation, which uses a combination of proportional representation and first-past-the-post voting, his election to national leader is far from certain.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and social democrat u/dyljam condemned the Tasmanian senator on Twitter, calling the move 'disgraceful'.
Speaking to the National Review, Senator u/dyljam said that it was 'embarrassing and irresponsible' for a government senator to endorse a candidate in a foreign country's election, 'especially using the logo of the party of government'.
'I remember when a former conservative government endorsed President Trump in the 2020 US presidential election. As a then-crossbencher, I called out the government for such a diplomatically damaging move', he said.
'Many of those on the left who applauded me at the time are now defending u/Inadorable. The hypocrisy from the Greens is breathtaking.'
Prime Minister u/model-slater defended the Greens senator on Twitter, saying the present situation 'Is far from the endorsement of Trump from the Department of Foreign Affairs'.
Senator u/Inadorable responded in an unusual tweet 'Leader of the Sozialdemokratische Partei Australien endorses leader of Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland[sic]... disgraceful'.
Senator u/dyljam said the onus was on the prime minister to publicly rebuke u/Inadorable and make it clear that the Greens political party does not endorse any candidate in the German federal election, despite u/Inadorable's endorsement carrying the Greens logo.
u/dyljam also took issue with the Greens senator's language in their endorsement of Mr Scholz.
'It is clear that this material, with the Greens logo and the use of the words 'we' and 'our', was intended to be representative of the broader party, not just one individual.'
'If the prime minister does not clear this up immediately, this could result in a diplomatic crisis'.
The German embassy in Canberra has been contacted for comment. NR
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