Anyone who watches the news these days and comes from the small community of Baierbrunn in the south of Munich may be wondering: Nanu, what is our mayor doing in Kiel? The man with the bushy beard, the sweeping side parting and the striking glasses, who was sworn in as Economics Minister of Schleswig-Holstein on Wednesday, is not Patrick Ott. Even if he looks like it. Claus Ruhe Madsen, the Dane from the Baltic Sea coast, who was previously mayor of Rostock, could easily pass as his twin brother. Nobody would notice a role reversal. Who knows, maybe Madsen has been sitting in the Baierbrunn town hall for a long time.
SZ: Hello Herr Ott, is it really you?
Patrik Ott: Yes, of course. What did you think?
Well, maybe her doppelganger Claus Ruhe Madsen.
No, as far as I know, he will be sworn in today in Kiel.
Rostock’s mayor, Claus Ruhe Madsen
(Photo: Marcus Brandt/dpa)
Can you also speak Danish?
Unfortunately not at all. It boils down to a few words from The Muppet Show. There was the Danish cook. So at most”Smørrebrød, Smørrebrød røm, pøm, pøm, pøm”.
Have you ever been to Schleswig-Holstein?
Both in Schleswig-Holstein and in Denmark.
Does that mean that Claus Ruhe Madsen snatched an attractive job from you as a minister in Kiel?
nope (laughs) I’ll put it this way: I think it was already clear when he took office as mayor of Rostock that the man was destined for higher things. I’m happy to see his development. I said about myself from the start that I would be happy to be the mayor of Baierbrunn for twelve years and then we’ll see what happens when I’m 65. Well, I’m happy to give him the job. And if so, then of course I would want to do something here in Bavaria and not in the far north.
But a vacation replacement would be possible. Nobody notices that.
If he now needs a look-alike so that no one notices if he takes a break from time to time – I think I can do that.
How would you prepare for a holiday replacement in Kiel?
I would watch some of his videos again first so I can hit him on the pitch. Then I stupidly have to comb my hair the other way around, i.e. from right to left. For me it is exactly the opposite. And the beard would need minor changes, but I think that’s enough.
Have you ever been asked about the similarity? Do you maybe even have the same style consultant?
style consultant? (laughs) Well, my barber in Munich doesn’t know Mr. Madsen personally. In fact, at the end of 2018, I was approached by friends on Facebook about what it was like running for mayor in the far north. I have made it clear that this is not the case. But from that point on, I followed Madsen very closely during the election campaign and afterwards. And friends still write to me regularly when something comes from Rostock: Look what your look-alike is doing at the moment. That continues to this day.
But have you never met him?
Unfortunately not. After my election, I wrote him a card. But I assume that got lost in the big, big mail he’s getting as mayor of Rostock. I put two pictures of us side by side and invited him to drop by the small town hall in Baierbrunn when he’s on vacation in the south. That would be a fun date for sure. Apart from that: everything I’ve read about him so far leads me to believe that we get along really well very quickly, even when we talk to one another.