Such communication breakdowns as now between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit are not normally part of the job profile of the head of the press and information office of the federal government, as the post is officially called. On the contrary: They are supposed to ensure that their boss looks good and that his policies are explained to the public.
They are the quiet servants of their masters, as a book by the chronicler of the Bonn Republic, Walter Henkels, once called it. Trouble is their business, according to a sign in the office of Conny Ahlers, who explained the politics of the social-liberal coalition of Willy Brandt among the people.Some of them also achieved a certain level of notoriety themselves, such as Klaus Bölling, who, as he wrote, had a “symbiotic relationship” with his employer Helmut Schmidt.
A look back in pictures at some of the most distinctive German politics sellers.