Overview
- Kretschmann, 77, marked his send-off at Baden-Württemberg’s Berlin mission with Angela Merkel, Olaf Scholz and Horst Seehofer among the guests.
- Seehofer praised him as “a fine person” and said politics should focus on doing the work rather than staging performances.
- In the same speech, Seehofer criticized the CSU’s recent anti-Green campaigning without naming Markus Söder and warned it erodes trust in democracy.
- Kretschmann lightened the evening with a story about a brief meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, using the Stuttgart 21 rail project to show how technical plans can split the public.
- Media reports say he will leave office within days with a handover to Cem Özdemir expected, and some outlets report a May 13 vote in the state parliament.