Political talk
Last edition of “Anne Will”: “Thank you, thank you, thank you”
Anne Will moderates the discussion group for the last time. photo
© Jörg Carstensen/dpa
Anne Will no longer wants to: her discussions are history. The journalist shaped German political talk for 16 years. She wants to do something different now.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck was a guest in the last broadcast on Sunday evening and praised Will at the end. The Green politician said: “Thank you for 16 years of enlightenment. That was a style-defining thing.” He was the only leading politician in the discussion group. Writer Navid Kermani – also among the guests – also paid tribute to Will. It was a certain expression of respect for her that he came on the show.
A “real honor”
The 57-year-old finally said into the camera to the audience: “I would also like to thank you for the great trust and interest you have shown us. We have, it must be said, in just over 16 years “We spent several hours together over the years. I have to say, it was a pleasure for me.” It was also a “real honor” for her, even if that might sound a bit pathetic.
The 57-year-old presented the political talk on the public broadcaster First German Television ARD for 16 years. She is one of the best-known political journalists in the country. At the beginning of the year it was announced that Will would be giving up her talk show and wanted to devote himself to new projects. Now Will announced that she would continue working with NDR and ARD. “That is obvious.” What exactly she will do has not yet been announced.
New plans
In the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” Will indicated that she wanted to be a reporter again, make documentaries and conduct individual interviews. She will also moderate events. She also wants to do podcasts and could imagine radio.
In her acceptance speech in the last broadcast on Sunday evening, she also praised her team behind “Anne Will”. They are highly professional, stress-tested and great colleagues. “I have to say, I’m going to miss that,” Will said. You will never forget what they have achieved.
The last show
Will then announced her successor, Caren Miosga, like this: “Be nice to her, she is too.” In the same way, the TV presenter Miosga (54) recently announced her successor on “Tagesthemen”, Jessy Wellmer.
When Anne Will wanted to move on to the “Tagesthemen”, they started late because a compilation from earlier “Anne Will” editions was presented first. These included, for example, excerpts from individual interviews with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).
Anne Will was finally surrounded by colleagues in the talk studio and received several bouquets of flowers. She said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The last broadcast was entitled: “The world in disorder – is Germany up to the challenges?”. Guests included Federal Economics Minister Habeck and writer Kermani, the President of the German Historical Museum Foundation, Raphael Gross, and the director of the research department at the NATO Defense College, Florence Gaub.
Will left his mark on her as a person
Anne Will’s personality shaped the political talk show so much that you could almost think that the show would still have to be called “Anne Will” even without her. But of course that’s nonsense. Months ago, the working title for the show of her successor Caren Miosga was announced: “Miosga”.
The Cologne-born journalist Will began her career in public broadcasting. She did a traineeship at Sender Freies Berlin (SFB, later RBB) and then worked there in the radio sector. Later she was on ARD’s “Sportschau” and then for many years as “Tagesthemen” presenter, alternating with Ulrich Wickert (80). In 2007 she started her political show.
In 2011, the time slot for her talk show, which is produced in Berlin, changed to Wednesdays. The reason: The Sunday evening spot was cleared for presenter Günther Jauch and Will had to vacate the field. In a “Spiegel” interview in 2010, Will complained about a “month-long stalemate” and said: “That was unpleasant. It can be done better.” In 2016 it returned to Sunday evenings.