Status: 12.07.2022 00:21
Chancellor Scholz is in direct contact with citizens, and discussion rounds are planned in all federal states. This is also interesting because the chancellor has been repeatedly criticized for his communication behavior for months.
A beach bar in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, the sun is shining, 155 people are there, wanting to ask the Chancellor questions. “Moin, Moin,” says Olaf Scholz in greeting. It’s a kind of home game for Scholz, who grew up in Hamburg and held political responsibility there for many years.
The chancellor will smile a lot during the course of the event. Maybe because he wants to come across as likeable, but maybe also because he really feels at home on this summer evening in the north of the republic.
He also gives little reason for Olaf Scholz not to feel comfortable. Voices of protesters can be heard from outside the event area: “Scholz has to go.” However, the 155 guests invited to the beach bar repeatedly emphasize how grateful they are that the chancellor came and answered their questions. The questioners were selected by the Lübeck regional newspaper, not by the federal government.
Start of a series of events
The discussion event in Lübeck is the start of a whole series of events. In the coming months, the Chancellor wants to enter into an exchange with guarantors nationwide. For the head of government, it is also about building and securing trust.
Trust comes from explaining what’s on your heart and what’s on your mind.
That applies to those who govern as well as to the citizens. This is how Scholz summarizes the idea behind the dialogue event.
attempt at better communication
For months now, the chancellor has been criticized for his style of communication, while the vice chancellor and economics minister has distinguished himself as the “chief politician explainer”.
At times, Scholz seems arrogant, for example when he recently responded very taciturnly to a question from a journalist at the G7 summit and made a joke at her expense. The Chancellor had previously answered a similar question from journalists in more detail. Still, many found his response impolite in the situation.
This is one of the reasons why the “Chancellor Talks” series of events, which will be held in all federal states, is an opportunity for Olaf Scholz to present himself in an approachable way and to explain his politics.
Many questions about high financial burdens
Nursing shortages, pensions, a shortage of skilled workers: for 90 minutes, the Federal Chancellor will answer questions on a wide variety of topics at the start of the series of events in Lübeck. Many questioners are moved by the current uncertainty because of the Ukraine war and the high financial burdens associated with it.
A man asks why the energy subsidy, which is intended to mitigate the high energy costs, has to be taxed. A woman wants to know how the government plans to protect students from poverty because of rising inflation. The chancellor doesn’t dress up the situation.
That will not be easy. The prices will not drop again quickly either, but that will remain a problem for a long time.
Scholz promises further relief measures
Olaf Scholz repeatedly refers to the federal government’s relief packages that have already been launched and promises further steps, for which his government is now seeking dialogue with employers and trade unions.
The importance the Chancellor attaches to public dialogue becomes clear when he is asked how he intends to secure social peace in Germany.
This will only succeed if you don’t talk over the heads of the citizens, but say there is a problem, but we will take care of it together.
And then there is a message that is crucial for Scholz, because he picks it up several times that evening: “No one is left alone.” That is, he believes, the decisive statement and he is committed to it.
Scholz also talks about love
Despite all the serious topics, Olaf Scholz, who is actually known for his northern German sobriety, also speaks about love in Lübeck. When a questioner criticized Finance Minister Lindner’s wedding celebration on Sylt because it was not appropriate in these times, the Chancellor replied: “The most beautiful thing in life is love. And if two people want to find each other and marry, you shouldn’t talk too much into them .” And he believes that also applies in these times.