On Thursday, Annalena Baerbock presented herself to the voters in “clear text” on ZDF. There were not many new findings – but that was also due to the questions.
The election campaign for the Bundestag election will reach its climax these days. Whether it is a Trielli, the electoral arena or political talk shows, the political actors try to make up ground on the last few meters. Above all, this means: take every media presence, every offer of speech with you that is still available. Whether the voters are still in the mood for it becomes almost a minor matter, the main thing is that the candidates: inside can speak up again. So it is hardly surprising that in “Klartext” the people asking the questions put themselves at the center of attention. Not everyone seemed interested in the politician’s answers.
Similar to the election arena on ARD a few days ago, Annalena Baerbock’s ZDF was now about answering questions from citizens on various topics. Although you have to admit that there were not so much specific questions as an offer to put personal frustration or your own worries off your mind.
Lots of questions, little information
Of course, at the end of these rounds of questions you can always read it as if it were about the big picture, about what moves Germany. Because many people share the concern about retirement, do not want wind turbines in the immediate vicinity and have to struggle with Long Covid to single out three of the many examples from the talk. But even if the topics are generic, the questioners all brought their own story and also their own motivation as to why they wanted to know something from Annalena Baerbock. And that unfortunately made this campaign broadcast less informative, but very tough.
A man from Rohrlack, Brandenburg, tried to use “Klartext” to prevent the planned wind turbines in his region, brought a visualization that was intended to convince the Green politicians that 250 meter high wind power towers are too high for the area. He was not deterred by Baerbock’s remarks that it would all be checked. The man barely took notice of her suggestion that she would campaign for wind energy to no longer only be generated in northern Germany, but that two percent of Germany should be available for wind turbines across the board. According to Baerbock, the current distribution, in which the south benefits from wind energy from the north, is a “great injustice”. At the end of this conversation, the invitation to a personal conversation followed, which has already been experienced in several broadcasts. This was followed by more in the hour and a half, which Annalena Baerbock promised to accept after the election. But what is that supposed to change?
Baerbock’s clear words against the competition
The politician promised a farmer “to strengthen regional organic products” and, above all, advocated good animal husbandry. She herself, she later said, was neither a vegan nor a vegetarian. But that was the only personal information of the evening. Anyone who hoped to see the real Annalena Baerbock behind the politician mask, as happens every now and then with Angela Merkel, was seriously disappointed. This election campaign is too routine for that.
After all, Baerbock was tempted to say that, in her opinion, “sensible meat labeling” was needed and that it was a scandal that the consumer minister had “not been baked” it up to now. Finally a real challenge to the competition, so far Annalena Baerbock had been noticed because she did not attack, but only pointed out the path of her party. The fact that she now pointed her finger at others was remarkable, as it happened several times on the show.
Baerbock presents itself as an alternative to “keep it up”
Baerbock positioned himself again and again primarily as an alternative to the “keep it up” of the grand coalition. And that is of course a certain attractiveness for many who are simply tired of the last few years. The party leader repeatedly pointed out on the program that it was time to break new ground, which would not always be easy. When a first-time voter asked her that her election manifesto would not be sufficient to achieve the 1.5-degree target that had been set, she agreed. “I cannot promise that we will be on the right track in four years,” said Baerbock, but “the course must be set now.” It is important not only to talk about the future like Olaf Scholz and Armin Laschet, but about the now. But whether this approach is enough for the Chancellor? Questionable. Because the answer to many questions in “Klartext” was: more money. For education, for retirement, for the villages. Of course we all want. But where this is supposed to come from, there was not enough time in the talk and maybe there is still no fully developed answer.
A man from Lake Constance wanted to talk about the fuel prices that are to be increased in the near future. The 16 cents fuel price increase demanded by the Greens next year, he could not support. In his opinion, these prices would have consequences for children who in rural areas can no longer be driven to the sports clubs by their parents. At this point one has to wonder what children actually have to serve in the election campaign. Often enough, they don’t play a role at all, but of all things, the increase in fuel prices is the biggest problem for families? Definitely not.
Baerbock pointed out to the man that the 16-cent increase is planned for the next few years and will not come into force in 2022. In addition, local public transport should of course be expanded in the next few years so that children can also reach the sports facilities in other ways.
Of course, family is an issue for the Greens in the election campaign, even more than it is for the other parties. Annalena Baerbock used a teacher’s questions to once again point out her own family situation during the pandemic; she repeatedly involves children and young people as a topic in the election campaign. Of course, parents notice, and Annalena Baerbock is recommended as a choice for families who played a role far too seldom during the election campaign. But words are patient and many families want a solution right now. In education policy in particular, however, the mills grind very slowly and the party chairman also ignored federalism.
Gender is a private matter
When asked whether gendering, i.e. addressing men and women in the correct terms, would ensure more emancipation, a viewer wanted to know. Of course not, replied Baerbock, the issues of wage differentials and fair pay as well as higher wages in areas in which women disproportionately often work are important issues for her. At the same time, gender, for which she is often criticized, is not a task as a politician for her, but simply a “question of courtesy”.
The chairwoman of the Greens responded to an AfD member’s question on the subject of the deportation of people to Afghanistan less politely, but with clear words. According to Baerbock, these must be stopped. “There is an international law and human rights are indivisible.” A rather flimsy attempt by the young woman to argue with fear of violence from refugees was countered by Baerbock by pointing to violence against women in general. “Every day a man tries to kill a woman, every third day a man succeeds”. The nationality of the perpetrators of femicides is not decisive for them, it is a matter of convicting the perpetrators, regardless of their origin. Where the politician otherwise always turned to all personal anecdotes, she showed a very clear edge here. Something that it has ahead of Laschet and Scholz, who generally argue rather cautiously on such questions.
What comes after the election campaign?
Also with regard to her own past, her curriculum vitae and the unmarked quotes in her book, Baerbock was also involved. She admitted mistakes without talking too much. The voters have also experienced this differently in this election campaign.
What is left of this “plain text” program at the end? The realization that Annalena Baerbock doesn’t shy away from questions, that she is turned and sometimes uncomfortable. It showed once again that it wants to stand for change and that cuts in society are necessary for this. At the same time, for those who have been following this election campaign for a long time, it was also evident that there are already prepared answers to many (individual) questions. This is election campaign 1×1, wherever an answer fits, it is given. But for a long time it was Annalena Baerbock’s strength to appear more approachable than the competition, less rehearsed. But that got lost in the last few meters of the election campaign. Voters can then rightly ask themselves what they can expect from the Greens after the election.
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