World

Dieter Hallervorden keeps four campaign events with Sven Schulze on schedule

Herz — World Desk · 1 August 2026 at 13:45 · 30s summary · 4 min read

The essentials

Dieter Hallervorden is taking part in four campaign events with Sven Schulze, the CDU’s lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election. After appearances in Halle and Magdeburg, events remain scheduled in Dessau and Naumburg, Handelsblatt reports. Around 600 people have registered for the Dessau meeting. A video accompanying one of Hallervorden’s songs briefly showed a sign accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. The CDU’s federal leadership rejected that claim, while Schulze defended his guest’s freedom of expression and said disagreement must remain possible.

Hallervorden is joining Schulze at four campaign events.
The Dessau and Naumburg events remain on schedule.
Around 600 people have registered for the Dessau event.
A Gaza-related video prompted a response from the CDU leadership.
Schulze defended dialogue despite the disagreements expressed.

What we know

Dieter Hallervorden is taking part in four campaign events with Sven Schulze, Saxony-Anhalt’s minister-president and the CDU’s lead candidate for the state election. The information was reported by Handelsblatt.

Events have already taken place in Halle and Magdeburg. Mario Karschunke, the CDU’s state general secretary, says the scheduled stops in Dessau and Naumburg will go ahead next week.

Around 600 people have registered for Monday’s event in Dessau. Karschunke says bookings are strong across the different meetings.

A discussion about freedom

The format, titled “Kultur braucht Freiheit” (“Culture needs freedom”), brings together Hallervorden, Schulze and a moderator. Their discussion covers freedom, democracy, art, freedom of expression and social cohesion.

Hallervorden also performs songs focused on peace. He rejects current defence and rearmament policies and revisits his criticism of Israeli policy.

A video shown behind one of his songs briefly depicts a demonstration. One sign reads “Stoppt den Völkermord in Gaza,” meaning “Stop the genocide in Gaza.”

Federal CDU leadership distances itself

Franziska Hoppermann, the CDU’s federal general secretary, told Bild that the party rejects the claim that genocide is taking place in Gaza. She reaffirmed its support for Israel and Ukraine in the face of terrorism and aggression.

Hoppermann also defended military capability, freedom of opinion and artistic freedom. She said, however, that an artistic work must accept clear disagreement.

At Wednesday’s event in Magdeburg, Schulze defended Hallervorden’s presence and freedom of expression. He said he wanted to govern a state in which disagreement remains possible.

The CDU points to dialogue

The Saxony-Anhalt CDU says it designed the events to show that people with differing views can engage in respectful dialogue. It adds that neither Schulze nor the party necessarily endorses every opinion expressed.

According to the CDU, Hallervorden offered to support Schulze. It was agreed from the outset that the artist would remain responsible for his own texts and material, without instructions from the party.

The state party says its political positions are established through its resolutions and statements by its officials, not through artistic performances by guests.

Hallervorden’s political objective

Hallervorden says he is campaigning to prevent an AfD-led government. He is supporting Schulze in Saxony-Anhalt, but said in Halle that he would not campaign for Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the federal level.

Hallervorden argues that the AfD could secure an absolute majority with 40% of the vote if the SPD, Greens and FDP each remain below 5%. The 5% threshold is the minimum share generally required for a party to take part in the allocation of seats.