The Greens and the FDP have started their preliminary talks to form a possible coalition, as a joint Instagram photo is supposed to illustrate. But there is much more to the picture.
A selfie shows the way to the new federal government. Perhaps that is the first reliable message that lies hidden between the pixels: “Exciting times” are dawning.
They called out the FDP and the Greens – practically at the same time – in the middle of the night. On Instagram. There, the Greens chairmen Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck as well as FDP leader Christian Lindner and General Secretary Volker Wissing published a picture of the quartet with the same text: “In the search for a new government, we sound out commonalities and bridges across divisions. And find even what. Exciting times. “
A picture with many messages, it shows a lot more than the tips of the FDP and the Greens: Two election winners talk to each other and to one another – to find out whether something is going on. You already know how it doesn’t work.
Past mistakes
You have to scroll through Lindner’s Instagram account for a long time to come across the images that once illustrated the battle of the formation of a coalition that failed spectacularly. Obviously, one wants to avoid a comparable failure after this federal election.
211 weeks ago, the FDP leader published an interview that he had given. The headline is a quote from Lindner: “I don’t have the imagination for an alliance with CDU and Union”.
At this point there are still two weeks until the 2017 federal election, which will bring the FDP a political comeback. Then as now, nobody really wants a new edition of the grand coalition. And so, at that time, too, the gaze is directed at the liberals: would they forge a so-called Jamaica coalition? Lindner is reducing expectations, driving up the price and market value of the FDP for a possible alliance.
204 weeks ago Lindner sent, smiling liberals can still be seen who put a lot of “#workworkwork” into “#Jamaica”. In vain. A little later, 201 weeks ago, Lindner put an abrupt end to the “#Sounding” for “#Jamaica”. The only thing left to the liberals is the certainty: “It is better not to govern than to govern wrongly.”
That was the FDP’s account of why the talks failed. Today, Greens boss Robert Habeck says retrospectively, but also with foresight: The opposite of 2017 is asked, then it could be something. “And don’t wave from the balcony before something has been done.”
The current photo is therefore always a hint, albeit not from the balcony.
Something is moving between the Greens and the FDP – and movement is necessary on both sides in view of major political differences (). They are looking for common lines, first among themselves, in order to then go together to the bigger picture – in exploratory talks, whether with the SPD or the Union.
In this respect, the snapshot can also be understood as a self-confident statement. The election winners are aware of their important role as smaller partners in a possible coalition, which ultimately have to find the answer to the question: Who will be the next Federal Chancellor? And in search of it, they don’t let themselves be talked into.
Selfie instead of press statement
The Chancellor makers know how to stage this effectively in the media – this text, too, is ultimately the result of their communication strategy. Because journalists were not informed in advance about the meeting, which apparently took place in more private premises. The publication of the picture made the meeting public, which was only expected in the course of the next few days.
The fact that Instagram was used as a communication channel, and not a newspaper or Twitter, can also be read as a signal: Out of the political bubble, into the younger target group – there,. Most of the first-time voters made their crosses with them. It is not known whether the countless montages and memes that followed the photo were calculated – but one does not want to rule that out. One thing is certain: the selfie is everywhere, it is discussed and commented up and down.
Would a press conference have had a similar effect? Probably not. The aim was evidently to place a clear and powerful message – why else did the four senders decide to publish the same image (albeit with different filters) four times with identical text?
Of course, many questions remain unanswered after this picture. The only certainty after the snapshot, regardless of the interpretation of the pixels, is that the Greens and FDP have started their preliminary investigations. These are “exciting times” indeed.
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.
