Election campaign, that was once upon a time: handing out flyers and pens at the information booth. Ring the doorbell. Participate in panel discussions. Okay, all of that is still campaigning. But no longer just that. Another campaign world has been added: the Internet and especially social media. The platforms did not play a major role in the last federal election in 2017. At the time, only about half of the candidates had a public Facebook profile, and only a third were on Twitter like that Daily mirror reported. In the meantime, not only is the majority of politics on social media, but more and more people in Germany are too. The corona pandemic has once again acted like an amplifier for the online election campaign. Because larger events were not possible in attendance for a long time, and during the pandemic everyone was able to try out online formats.
The SZ has taken a close look at the social media profiles of the Munich direct candidates for the federal election of the CSU, SPD, Greens, FDP, AfD and left, a selection is presented here. Only three of the 24 candidates do not have a public profile on social media. The politicians deal with the possibilities of the platforms differently. Kerem Schamberger (left) already uses the live function on Instagram, for example on Friday morning when he told his followers in the video “On the way to #BlockIAA” what the day will bring in terms of protest against the auto show. Others post a post every day with the regularity of clockwork. And for some, the profiles could need a little more maintenance.
In terms of numbers, Petr Bystron (AfD) is the front runner on Facebook, with 35,000 subscribers. On Instagram, the green Jamila Schäfer leads with 8,600 subscribers, also on Twitter, with 20,600 followers. All numbers are from Friday of this week and are rounded to the nearest hundred. And then there is another one that stands out – not with the usual platforms, but with Tiktok. Thomas Sattelberger joined the FDP in 2015, and in 2017 he entered the Bundestag via the Bavarian state list. Then he became a Tiktok star. 135,600 people follow the 72-year-old on the platform, on which every third user is under 18. How does he do that? The MP believes that his success in the youth app has to do with the fact that he doesn’t appear artificial: “I’m a bit clumsy, but I don’t pretend.” Tiktok is based on short, often ironic or black-humored videos, underlaid with music. Sattelberger, once a manager at Daimler, Lufthansa, Continental and Telekom, got involved – and clearly understood the principle.
Sattelberger thinks Tiktok is not unimportant in his election campaign. He believes, he says, “that I am doing something for our entire party”. Again and again the online election campaign plays into the analogue one, then a young person comes to the information booth and says: “I saw you at Tiktok.” But political work on the Internet means a lot more to Sattelberger. He sees social media as an opportunity “to meet people in a different way”. He made a podcast with climate activist and influencer Fabian Grischkat, 70 episodes. “I experiment with formats, not by planning them perfectly, but by simply doing them.” The formats are of course professionally produced, including the small videos on Tiktok, for which he works with the digital agency Project Z.
This year he is investing 50 percent of his energy in information stands, discussions and panels during the election campaign, says Sattelberger, and 50 percent in online activities. And he believes that the latter will continue to gain in importance: “Something will fundamentally change in the parties’ election campaign strategy in the coming years.”
Assistance: Jana Jöbstl