How is he coming this time? In which costume will Markus Söder appear in the Mainfrankensälen in Veitshöchheim this Friday for the television show carnival in Franconia? Last year he appeared as a very old gentleman with a bushy beard and flowing curls, the crosier firmly in his hand. Many photos have survived in which he showed the way to those who posed with him for the cameras with a stoic, dignified look into the distance and an outstretched hand. Undoubtedly the right one, just as you would expect from a Bavarian father.
Söder’s disguise is, as always, a secret until shortly before the ceremonial meeting of the Franconian carnival association (FVF), which was broadcast live by BR. Maybe he’ll come as Olaf Scholz or Robert Habeck. The question of the right-wing role this evening is fundamentally a highly political one. Some speculate that Hubert Aiwanger could drive his tractor into the hall this year and distribute leaflets there. Eternal Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, on the other hand, is almost certainly expected to act as sheriff – as he has done for what feels like 100 years.
But one shouldn’t give too much importance to the external condition of Bavarian political celebrities, even if “there will be so many members of the cabinet that there would almost certainly be a quorum,” as the BR editor responsible for the program, Rüdiger Baumann, says. Rather, the focus of consideration should be those who celebrate three and a half hours of political cabaret and slapstick, comedy and guard dance, music and nonsense on stage. For example, there are: the Altneihauser Feierwehrband’n, Gankino Circus, Viva Voce, Michl Müller, Klaus Karl-Kraus, Ines Procter as a cleaning lady, ventriloquist Sebastian Reich with his hippo lady Amanda, Matthias Walz (as a cook on the piano) and Peter Kuhn Schweinfurt, who, as a rhyming judge from the Bütt, wants to capture his audience as witnesses, lay judges and defendants.
Back for the first time in a long time: Waltraud and Mariechen. Respectively Martin Rassau and Volker Heißmann, who are part of the regular staff in Veitshöchheim, but most recently took on their roles as widows there in 2020. As such, they will walk through the rows of the hall and gossip face to face about the politicians present. Of what they say, “90 percent are really spontaneous,” says Heißmann. “Those are the worst ten minutes for the editorial team. At the end we say: We didn’t know what we were doing.” The Nuremberg word acrobat Oliver Tissot will not be there; instead, “Lubber and Babbo” from Oberschwappach in the Steigerwald will make their debut. And in terms of content? Sometimes it will be sharp, sometimes funny, says Marco Anderlik, President of the FVF. “We try to avoid polemics and jokes,” says BR editor Baumann.
Strictly speaking, the carnival in Franconia is not a TV carnival show on BR, but rather the ceremonial meeting of the Franconian carnival association broadcast by the station. Last year, the foolish coexistence between BR and Carnival, which had been cultivated for three and a half decades, was seriously disrupted. The association felt that it had been treated condescendingly by the broadcaster and expressed solidarity with the main protagonists of the evening, the artists. They warned of the consequences of planned savings at the expense of the BR team behind the scenes, a large part of which has been involved in the production of the TV showpiece for many years. Why change what is established and successful? For many years, the Franconian carnival has been the ratings hit of all third-party programs in Germany, with around four million viewers in total and a 53 percent audience rating in the Free State last year. In the meantime, the association and BR have come together, “on an equal footing,” emphasizes FVF President Anderlik, sorted things out and contractually extended their cooperation until 2028.
It is important to Marco Anderlik that Carnival in Franconia and the other carnival programs “Franken Helau” or “Närrische Weinprobe” reflect what the 150,000 members of the 338 Franconian carnival clubs achieve. For example when it comes to inclusion. On February 11th, a physically disabled girl in a wheelchair will appear as a speaker on the youth program “Jung und foolish” with the motto “I would love to be a Tanzmariechen” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/.”That’s a great number , which is very heartfelt,” says Anderlik. At the Franconian carnival, the association focuses on high-performance sport. Four dancers from the “Coburger Mohr” carnival society took first to fourth place in their discipline at the German championship. They will perform in Veitshöchheim this Friday – together.