Joe Chialo dubbed "court jester": Olaf Scholz goes on the defensive - "Accusation of racism is absurd"

news.de Joe Chialo dubbed "court jester": Olaf Scholz goes on the defensive - "Accusation of racism is absurd" 11 hours • 3 minutes reading time Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under fire for a remark about Berlin's Senator for Culture Joe Chialo (CDU). ・Racism scandal surrounding Olaf Scholz ・Chancellor is said to have called CDU politician Joe Chialo "court jester" ・Olaf Scholz publishes statement: "Accusation of racism is absurd and artificially constructed" A few days before the federal election on February 23, 2025, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in trouble. The SPD politician, who is running again as a candidate for chancellor for the Social Democrats, is accused of a racist outburst at a private party attended by guests from politics and the press. Verbal outburst by Olaf Scholz causes a stir shortly before the federal election The "Focus" newspaper, whose editor-in-chief was also a guest at the party, initially reported on the statements. Olaf Scholz spoke at the ceremony about CDU leader Friedrich Merz and the Union, who were recently able to achieve a majority in federal votes with the help of AfD votes - a circumstance that also caused outrage outside parliament and also got the Chancellor riled up. Joe Chialo described as a "court jester": Chancellor Scholz is pilloried According to "Focus", Berlin's Senator for Culture Joe Chialo, himself a member of the CDU federal executive board, who was also present at the party, asked Olaf Scholz "whether he really meant that about the CDU's racism", the Chancellor described him as the Union's "fig leaf" and threw the words "every party has its court jester" at Chialo. Olaf Scholz makes a statement on the "court jester" scandal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has now admitted to having referred to the black Berlin Senator for Culture Joe Chialo (CDU) as the Union's "court jester" at a private birthday party. "The term I used does not have racist connotations in everyday language and was never intended to be so by me," Scholz was quoted as saying in a statement from the SPD party executive. A spokeswoman for the Social Democrats confirmed that Scholz was referring to the term "court jester" in the statement. "The accusation of racism is absurd and artificially constructed," Olaf Scholz continued. Berlin Senator Joe Chialo remains silent on the "court jester" incident Chialo did not want to comment on the matter when asked. A spokesman for the Senate Department for Culture confirmed that there had been an "incident" at an event attended by Scholz and Chialo. "The Senator is not commenting further on this." Heavy criticism of Scholz's statement: Union demands Chancellor's apology to Chialo Scholz was heavily attacked by the Union for his statement. "This is an unspeakable slip-up by the Chancellor, it is tasteless and therefore the opposite of respect. As a friend of Joe, these insults shock me," said Union parliamentary group vice-chairman Jens Spahn (CDU) to the dpa. "Olaf Scholz should immediately apologize to him personally. It is the sad end of a catastrophic chancellorship." Scholz explained that at the celebration ten days ago he had criticized the joint voting behavior of the CDU/CSU and AfD in the Bundestag. When it was pointed out that there were also liberal voices in the CDU, he replied that only very few party representatives had opposed the behavior of party leader Friedrich Merz and spoken out critically. "Personally, I value Joe Chialo as an important liberal voice in the Union."