It is a tradition in the election of the Federal President: In addition to politicians, celebrities also decide on the German head of state. So the national coach is there and proud as Oskar. The secret stars are likely to be the Corona heroes.
Soccer stars, an astronaut, actors – they all have a big task on Sunday. Then, for example, national soccer coach Hansi Flick, moderator Klaas Heufer-Umlauf and astronaut Alexander Gerst choose the Federal President. The 17th Federal Assembly has 1,472 members and by no means all of them are politicians by profession. There has long been a rule of thumb for the election of the head of state: the clearer the outcome, the more celebrities cavort among the electors. Since the re-election of the Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier, 66, is considered certain, there will be a high density of TV faces to be seen in the corona-related replacement voting location Paul-Löbe-Haus in Berlin. The secret stars are likely to be the Corona heroes.
Even Papa Heuss wanted to make the Federal Assembly more colourful
But let’s start at the beginning: There is a tradition of people sitting in the Federal Assembly. Political scientist Karl-Rudolf Korte explains that it was Theodor Heuss’ idea to also let public figures have a say. “But only from 2004 will this be accompanied differently by the media and bet on media prominence,” says Korte. “Whereas former members of parliament and former Prime Ministers used to be there for the parties, since then it has been public figures from all areas of work who are well-known in the media.”
“Privilege and honor”: Hansi Flick follows Jogi Löw here too
Let’s take football as a working area: Flick will also succeed Jogi Löw in the Federal Assembly. The national coach votes on behalf of the Southwest CDU. Flick says the idea came to him in his home town of Bammental near Heidelberg. “I didn’t need to think about it because I consider it a privilege and an honor to be able to elect the Federal President.” The person elected must be a Federal President for everyone – “for all of Germany, for a diverse, colourful, open, tolerant country”. In Berlin, Flick also meets old acquaintances, such as Freiburg coach Christian Streich and Bayern star Leon Goretzka.
Film and TV stars at the “Day for Democracy”
One voter from the acting field, for example, is Marcus Mittermeier (“Munich Murder”), who was nominated by the state parliamentary group of the Bavarian Greens. “The fact that this day is celebrated in such a festive way can rightly be described as a holiday for democracy.” Mittermeier is not a party member, he says. In terms of content, there is already a large overlap with the Greens, especially in climate policy. The list of TV faces in the election is quite long: Tatort star Dietmar Bär and Leonard Lansink (“Wilsberg”) are there for the North Rhine-Westphalian SPD, moderator Klaas Heufer-Umlauf for the SPD in Lower Saxony, comedian Dieter Nuhr for the NRW FDP. Actress Fritzi Haberlandt (“Babylon Berlin”) comes for the Greens in Brandenburg, Sibel Kekilli (“Against the Wall”) was nominated by the Greens in Baden-Württemberg and the rapper and author Reyhan Şahin aka Lady Bitch Ray votes for the Left Party .
Silent Corona heroes: “Oops, you’re seen after all”
Of course, the corona crisis is also visible in the Federal Assembly. Almost every country will have someone who works in the health sector in the election. Whether Charité virologist Christian Drosten, his colleague Sandra Ciesek, the Tübingen doctor Lisa Federle, emergency doctor and blogger Carola Holzner – known as Doc Caro – or previously unknown: This is how the Southwest Greens send Ayse Jeter from the Stuttgart Clinic to Berlin. The 50-year-old was the head of an intensive care unit and is happy about this appreciative gesture. For a long time she had the feeling that politics had forgotten her profession. When the call came, she thought: “Oops, you’ll be seen after all.” She is “totally happy” to represent her colleagues in Berlin. “There is no higher task.” Also present: Özlem Türeci, founder of Biontech.
92-year-old from Mannheim wants to set an example against AfD
Corona survived Karla Spagerer, 92, well, she would like to survive the AfD as well. In any case, the SPD member is the oldest voter in the Federal Assembly on Sunday. The senior from Mannheim has been visiting schools for a number of years to report on the horrors of the Nazi era. The motivation for her late commitment was the strengthening of the AfD, she says. “I wanted to fight against that.” Spagerer finds it outrageous that CDU member Max Otte is running as an AfD candidate against Steinmeier: “The CDU should throw him out on edge.”
Princely faux pas reverberates
This time the drag queen Gloria Viagra is likely to have the cheekiest hairstyle in the Federal Assembly, succeeding Olivia Jones, who four years ago was the most colorful bird of paradise with her orange-red mane. Speaking of Gloria and a cheeky hairstyle: Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis, was once known for this. But she caused a great shock in the CSU when she confessed after the 2004 election that she had voted not for Horst Köhler but for Gesine Schwan. “Don’t remind me,” the princess sighed later. It would have been better if it hadn’t come out. Since then, she has not been invited to any state government reception in Bavaria. But there is also princely splendor this time: Lower Saxony’s FDP sends Alexander to Schaumburg-Lippe.
Source: Stern
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