When Gerhard Schröder was not yet devoting his political power to saving the currywurst, he stood in front of the Chancellery in Bonn at night, shook the fence and shouted “I want to go in there!”. This anecdote illustrates the later Chancellor’s strong will to power, and it provided the inspiration for the title of this documentary by Ben Bolz and Philipp Grüll. Immediately, however, the immense change in political culture that has taken place in the years under Angela Merkel becomes clear: The three people who are applying for their successor are not thinking of emphasizing their ambitions so loudly. You would be making a fool of yourself. They probably emphasize that they dare to take on the office, but the time when the pursuit of political office could be based on personal history seems to be over. In this three-person portrait, the soft tones dominate.
Armin Laschet is a lot about defeat, when classic professional politicians like to show off that they were elected class representative or that they won first place in the can throw at the fair. Laschet suffered defeats several times, landed flops and lost a full pot against Norbert Röttgen in the competition for the chairmanship of the regional association. But he doesn’t even spin the story of the stand-up man out of it, he wisely records it under lessons that life wrote for him.
Some may regret the lack of charisma – the three are not Obamas
The film also addresses critical points in Olaf Scholz’s biography, the Agenda 2010 and the G-20 summit in Hamburg, where there were serious acts of violence. In contrast to Laschet, who seems to be flexible in all directions and primarily communicates with his facial muscles, Scholz expresses himself in maximally reduced sentences, as if he had edited and condensed every utterance for days until a core essence remains that the audience can now chew on.
The story of Annalena Baerbock is naturally shorter, her ascent and her current weakness are well remembered, but also with her the mistakes that she made during the election campaign are a central theme.
Annalena Baerbock’s story is shorter in the documentary, but her mistakes are a central theme.
(Photo: BR / NDR / Ralph Zipperlen)
The result is a portrait of a trio in which everyone has already been through a lot in their own camp, everyone has something to regret and no one can be sure of winning. What is special, however, is that the three candidates make politics without demonization and without fear campaigns, but rather appreciate the reflection and cultivate the nuances. Such a choice between three people whom one would like to have as a neighbor, regardless of political attitudes, is rare and a blessing. Some may regret the lack of charisma, and you couldn’t contradict them – you don’t want to know much more about the trio of candidates than is shown in the film. There are no Obamas. On the other hand: a country that doesn’t want or need super celebrities at the top is doing well.
“They want in there – the fight for the Chancellery”, ARD media library.