German poll candidate under fire over schoolgirl comments

The German flag is seen in this stock image (Pexels/Ingo Joseph)

A politician from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right party has come under fire during a local election campaign after a video resurfaced of him making comments about schoolgirls.

Manuel Hagel, 37, is the CDU’s top candidate for regional elections in the prosperous southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on March 8.

In the video from 2018, Hagel can be seen talking enthusiastically about a visit to a secondary school class in his constituency where 80 per cent of the pupils were girls.

“There are worse places for a 29-year-old MP to be,” he grins.

He then mentions one girl in particular who stuck in his mind, noting her “brown hair” and “hazel eyes”.

The video has provoked a backlash, with Greens MP Zoe Mayer and other critics accusing Hagel of sexism.

“What signal does this send to young women who want to get involved in politics?” Mayer said in a clip on Instagram about the video.

During a TV debate aired by the ARD broadcaster on Tuesday, Hagel said he regretted his “stupid mistake”, adding that his wife had “given him a real dressing down” over the comments.

For the past five years, the state government in Baden-Wuerttemberg has been led by the Greens in coalition with the CDU.

However, the CDU is currently leading the polls and looks set to head the next government -- possibly in collaboration with the Greens again.

Markus Frohnmaier, the top candidate for the far-right AfD, seized on the video to harangue the Green party candidate about whether he would team up with Hagel during the TV debate.

“Can you still envisage co-operation with the CDU in Baden-Wuerttemberg in this context?” Frohnmaier asked the Greens’ Cem Ozdemir.

The latest polls show the CDU with around 28 per cent support in Baden-Wuerttemberg, with the Greens on 22 per cent and the AfD on 20 per cent.