Habeck’s Auschwitz-Fauxpas: Staging is forbidden at some place

Everyone has an Achilles’ heel. In the literal sense anyway, but also understood. So a place that reveals your own vulnerability.

This also applies to top politicians. In election campaigns, where the headlights are almost 24 hours on them, such areas are often particularly visible.

With Friedrich Merz it is the impulse, the arrogance at Olaf Scholz. With Robert Habeck it is his vanity.

Vanity is part of business in top politics. You have to stage yourself to arrive at people. But unlike Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder, who now lives out his vanity completely unabashedly on social networks, the Green politician Habeck pretends that this feeling is away. As if he were just a little more thoughtful than his political colleagues.

This already seems diagonally when it can be photographed at the same time horse -tingling or targeted man. On Monday, however, he drove this form of self -staging too far.

Then Twittered Habeck on the edge of the commemoration on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz A photo of himself with the words: “In addition to the official part, there were also a few moments alone. I don’t need to say anything about it.” Habeck was seen from behind and from the semi -rested how he walked past barracks lonely.

On the short message service X, he was criticized by many users. Some pointed out that there could be no question of “alone” if one could be accompanied by your social media team. The look was also criticized. In fact, the photo, certainly unintentionally, is reminiscent of the legendary picture of the artist Gottfried Helnwein, on which the Hollywood rebel James Dean, who died early through an accident, apparently goes through the streets of New York alone.

It is more difficult than such details that Habeck counteracts his own intention with his post: instead of taking back a moment in view of the horrific crimes committed in Auschwitz to take back himself and his own meaning.

There are places where productions are forbidden, beyond those who are fully devoted to the memory of the victims. Auschwitz is one of them.

Habeck’s action leaves a shell after taste: that in the end he is more about himself and the election campaign than about the matter. After the Hamas massacre on October 7, he demonstrated that he can do it differently. Then he published a video appeal in which he hit the right tone. There was nothing to be felt of vanity and staging, but much of real empathy and thoughts about what has to follow politically from the events.

The Auschwitz staging looked dishonest. In the end, Habeck hurt himself. And the matter.