German state leader Schwesig distances herself from Berlin ahead of key vote
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's premier Manuela Schwesig is campaigning against a surging AfD by breaking with federal government policy. In a podcast interview she also spoke candidly about surviving cancer.
Manuela Schwesig, the Social Democrat (SPD) premier of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is deliberately distancing herself from federal government policy as she fights to keep her post against a rising challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Politico journalist Gordon Repinski joined Schwesig for a walk through Rostock-Warnemünde on the Baltic coast during the final stretch of her state election campaign. During the walk, she laid out her pitch to local voters, sharply criticizing the economic course set by Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and calling for a state-imposed price cap on fuel.
Her central campaign message is that working people should no longer bear the main burden of the current economic pressures. Alongside pointed criticism on pension policy, Schwesig also opened up personally during the walk, speaking candidly about her recovery from cancer and how the experience reshaped her political priorities.
The conversation was featured on Politico Germany's "Berlin Playbook" podcast, which publishes new episodes each morning.
