Folk festivals at which campaign speeches are waved, this is out of the question in this federal election campaign because of the corona pandemic. Depending on whether an election campaign event is a gathering or is of a predominantly cultural nature, the number of people who can participate varies. Always keep a distance of one and a half meters from others. A mask should be worn in most situations. All the rules and requirements also influence the Bundestag election campaign in the Munich district.
Election campaign under difficult conditions: Member of the Bundestag Anton Hofreiter from the Greens with an FFP2 mask.
(Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa)
If the direct candidates in the district are asked about their election campaign, it becomes clear that they are facing the challenge and are looking for other ways than usual to get in touch with the voters. They rely a lot on digital offers and smaller, more unusual face-to-face events. A sure instinct is also required in some cases.
“The federal election campaign has of course changed fundamentally compared to 2017,” says the CSU direct candidate and member of the Bundestag Florian Hahn. It seems that he does not quarrel with it, but refers to the experience that one now has. After about 18 months, they have been tried and tested in holding a large part of the formats virtually and now again in hybrid format. Volker Leib, district chairman of the Greens in the Munich district and on the campaign team of the direct candidate and member of the Bundestag Anton Hofreiter, sees the difference to earlier election campaigns: “We always had events and green festivals before the summer holidays. This cannot take place on this scale this year.” , he says. The “direct contact and the nice atmosphere are missing,” he says. Ramona Greiner, campaign manager for SPD direct candidate Korbinian Rüger, also sees the lack of large events, folk festivals, “where you come into contact with a lot of different people in one fell swoop,” as the biggest difference. She does not see the “gossip icon in the video conference tool” as an equivalent substitute for “thunderous applause after a political speech in the marquee”.
Florian Hahn makes extensive use of Twitter and Facebook
In order to still reach the voters, the parties in the district therefore rely a lot on digital offers and social media – and are obviously doing quite well with them. Hahn, for example, often comments on current political developments on Twitter and speaks a lot on Facebook and Instagram. This time, the social media made up a significantly higher proportion of the communication with the voters, “precisely because the people are here more often,” he says. “Online, online, online” is what the Greens say, according to Leib. On their homepage as well as on the Facebook and Instagram channels, they offer information about Hofreiter and the green core topics of climate protection, mobility transition and social cohesion. It looks like they also reach some people with the digital offers.
Much of this is happening digitally in this election year.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
Leib speaks of a “successful start to the online election campaign” when around 200 guests attended an online event with Anton Hofreiter in July. Greiner also reports “surprisingly good” visitor numbers for online formats and the participation of both older and younger people. “You don’t need a babysitter, there are no journeys to and from home and there are no costs,” says the campaign manager.
Nonetheless, all candidates and campaign teams agree: “There is no substitute for” direct and personal contact “, as Hahn puts it. Therefore, they all rely on smaller face-to-face events, preferably outdoors. Hahn wants to get into conversation with people on themed walks – at the end of August, for example, there is a forest walk for the whole family – and bike tours. The Greens have also planned such formats. Voters will be able to meet the SPD candidate Rüger in the beer garden in many district communities in the coming weeks. The SPD also focuses on unusual topics, as discussed Rüger at an online event recently with a football expert and podcaster about ethics in football.
There won’t be full beer tents this year like when Olaf Scholz visited Gut Keferloh in 2018.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
The candidates do not forego traditional campaign activities such as door-to-door visits, they just keep a greater distance than usual. In this way, they signaled that we should keep our distance and that “we take people’s need for security into account”. The Greens also want to do more door-to-door election campaigns and ring the doorbell. They will also throw their magazine for voting, “Green Times”, in the mailboxes. Voters will be able to find out more about the respective programs at the parties’ information stands. Instead of the usual handover of the information material “to take away and click on a QR code on your own smartphone and thus completely contactless”, for example CSU MP Hahn describes this year’s procedure.
Sensitivity is required
Because the corona pandemic with its lockdowns has also had an impact on social interaction, the parties need a lot of sensitivity during the election campaign. “There are fellow citizens who are still very cautious about the pandemic and, in my opinion, rightly attach particular importance to compliance with the applicable rules,” says Hahn. That is why it is important to him personally to “proceed very sensitively, to conduct the election campaign with a sense of proportion and to observe the current regulations”. Greiner also speaks of a “sure instinct” when it comes to door-to-door visits. She does not notice that people are less accessible. “We even have the impression that some people are happy to speak face to face about politics again after several lockdowns and the many restrictions,” says the campaign manager. The Greens, however, “cannot yet say” whether the people are less accessible. In direct conversation, personal pandemic experiences are of course an issue, but after the flood disaster and forest fires, one is also quick on the topic of climate protection and what is now expected of politicians, especially the Greens, says Leib.
Contact is not completely waived, as CSU man Florian Hahn proves.
Franz Kohout, retired political professor at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Neubiberg, confirms the fact that the election campaign is overall a little quieter and smaller. He, who is himself a member of the Greens, speaks of counted people at the events and of the door-to-door election campaign in which information material is handed over on the tablet. He thinks the latter is not a bad thing to show people that one tries to keep the rules.
“It’s not all bad, but the range is not as strong as it used to be,” he says with conviction. From his point of view, there is also a lack of “the emotional mood that is always part of an election campaign”. Whether the lockdowns and a division in society make themselves felt, for example in terms of people turning away from politics, will, in his opinion, be seen in the voter turnout.