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FDP leader Christian Lindner currently likes to play the factual opposition politician. But he is often not very specific about the truth. It doesn’t harm the man because he has a splendid quality that attracts voters. A search for clues.
Where did he learn that? This hands-free approach to the truth. Maybe when he played the caretaker in civil service, or while studying politics in Bonn, when he was a reserve officer or at the beginning of his career with the FDP? At some point Christian Lindner slipped into the role of the illusionist, and maybe that’s why he became FDP boss.
The other day at the annual meeting of private health insurers he was standing at the desk, dark suit, white shirt, red tie, his hair nicely coiffed, his beard carefully trimmed, every inch a gentleman. And cheated. Not like the lying president Donald Trump, but what he said was wrong.
Freedom of choice is an illusion
He spoke about the freedom of choice in ours, which has proven itself in the pandemic and just should not be changed. What does he mean by that? That you, dear reader, can choose where you can insure yourself in the event of illness, with health insurance companies such as AOK or Barmer or with private providers such as Debeka or DKV. Germany, a country of competition where everyone has a choice. Lindner conjured up this image.
It’s just stupid that it’s an illusion. Most citizens cannot vote. You don’t meet the conditions. An employee has to earn 5,363 a month, which, according to the Federal Employment Agency, only twelve of the employees can. The self-employed (almost ten of the employees) or civil servants (around four) can vote, but the rest, almost three quarters, cannot vote. Even once you have decided in favor of the private, you can no longer choose big. The way back to AOK, Barmer and Co. is largely blocked. The freedom of choice that Christian Lindner invokes is an illusion.
Six percent pay the top tax rate
Or let’s take his favorite topic of taxes. There is hardly an appearance at which the trained political scientist MA does not castigate the top tax rate of 42 percent because he meets citizens with an income of 58,000 euros or more. The listener thinks: “Wow, with this low income the tax hammer is coming down.” Germany is a country of top tax rate payers.
Unfortunately also a mirage. Around 3.8 million Germans pay the top rate, a good six percent of all. 94 percent don’t pay it. The top taxpayers are not a mass movement, but an elite. And even this elite pays the top rate not on the whole income, but only on a part. This has to do with our complicated tax system, where the tax rate rises with income. On average, according to calculations by the tax expert Stefan from the German Institute for Economic Research, top earners rarely pay more than 30 percent tax on their total income. The state is nowhere near as voracious as Christian Lindner portrays it.
He often does that, describing reality differently than it is. This Lindner. When he advertises his party’s pension concept and refers to the Netherlands, which allegedly has already implemented his ideas, he is hiding something important. Every Dutch citizen receives a basic pension of 1200 euros when he is old if he has lived in the country for 50 years – regardless of whether he has worked or not. But Lindner does not want to introduce such a basic pension.
The perfect politician for Instagram
He used to talk a lot about Europe and what he said sounded like a departure. But the man wanted to kick Greece out and abolish the European one that helped many countries through the euro crisis. That would not have been a departure, but an end.
Cheating has so far harmed Lindner little. Because he has a quality that is very popular with voters. He looks good. In 2018 he was voted the most beautiful male top politician in a poll. Good-looking people are assigned positive characteristics such as assertiveness, a sense of power and competence, regardless of whether they have these skills, says the scientist Ulrich Rosar. This preference may be unfair, but many people do not make decisions based on facts, but rather on their feelings, and with Christian Lindner many obviously have the feeling that he is competent and tells the truth, even if he is cheating. Appearance shapes being and determines consciousness. Christian Lindner is the perfect politician for the stylish Instagram world, the Disneyworld of the 21st century. Where did he learn that?
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
