Editorial
Wedding staging at the time of crisis
I’m not jealous and I’m not a fun killer – but we still have to talk about Lindner’s wedding
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Germany is threatened with a gas emergency and mega recession. Instead of showing renunciation, our politicians celebrate at the wedding of Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Sylt. Chancellor Scholz is there, CDU leader Friedrich Merz even comes in a private plane. It’s really not good timing, says stern editor-in-chief Gregor Peter Schmitz.
No, I’m not jealous. I’m not a fun killer. i like weddings I have to precede these sentences in order to cushion reflexes that are intended to nip in the bud any discussion about the three-day marriage of Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Sylt, with the participation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the opposition leader Friedrich Merz, who arrived in a private plane.
Now that that’s settled, we need to talk about Lindner’s wedding. In normal times, I don’t give a damn how someone celebrates, who they invite and how the guests arrive, even with a politician. But these times are not normal. We are experiencing a “turning point”. The politicians, who celebrated happily on Sylt, proclaimed the term themselves. And he might still be stacked low.
It is possible to probable that Russian gas will hardly flow if Nord Stream 1 does not restart after the “maintenance”. Then our government can still buy as much gas from all over the world: We would have an acute gas shortage – and an authority would have to decide which operation would continue. The BASF boss says: “That could destroy our prosperity.”
Private heaters could switch off in rows if the pressure in the gas network drops. Maybe we need “heat halls” in winter so that people don’t die from cold. The traffic light government should say to the Germans: We all have to do without. There is a threat of a mega stress test for our social cohesion.
Leadership by example looks different
Now, of all times, does a federal finance minister not think of staging his wedding without driving a Porsche? A federal chancellor doesn’t say: you, Christian, isn’t such a good idea, I won’t come? Friedrich Merz, who absolutely wanted to become head of a people’s party, thinks this is the moment to show the people his private plane? How was that again with leadership by example?
Sure, you can calculate that it was a used Porsche, a fuel-efficient aircraft. But politics is made in pictures. crisis policy even more. Armin Laschet was also at the wedding on Sylt, the photo of his giggling in the flood area once deprived him of all chances for chancellor. Did Laschet think during the celebration: Do you really mean it?