Good morning dear reader,
I think you can still wish for that on January 8th. Especially in these times when I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want that: that 2024 May it be better than the crisis-ridden year of 2023. The longing for rays of hope is palpable between Flensburg and Füssen, Dortmund and Dresden. As an optimistic person, I would be only too happy to share good news with you. But unfortunately the world isn’t like that, and problems don’t go away happily just because there’s a 4 on the calendar instead of the 3.
On the contrary: In many places the country seems heated despite the winter temperatures. Fears of loss of prosperity and conflicts abroad, mistrust in the ability of elites to solve problems and, for many people, deep-seated anger at those in power of whatever stripe are combining to form a toxic social virus.
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This virus causes uncertainty in some people, apathy in many, and aggression in some. Anyone who has seen the pictures, like angry activists at the vacationing economics minister Robert Habeck harassed, may have remembered the mob that stormed the Capitol in Washington. Who observes how CDU politician Those who use aggressive images on the Internet to encourage violence are frightened by such unscrupulousness. Anyone who learns from the research of my colleague Lars Wienand that the farmers’ protests are being infiltrated by extremist Reich citizens will feel uneasy. And who finally listens, like the populists Sahra Wagenknecht, Alice Weidel and Hubert Aiwanger Defaming Habeck and defending the rioters in a brazen perpetrator-victim reversal, a dark thought can come to mind: Is it that time again in this country? Is the stability of our democracy, which has survived so much in almost 80 years – economic, financial and migration crises, left and right terrorism – is this successful system at risk?
I don’t think much of doom and gloom and certainly not of meanness. I think I know that German society is more robust, the constitutional state is more stable and the political structures are more reliable than it often appears at regular meetings, in editorial offices and in the digital gutter. And I know that I am in the good company of many contemporaries who also refuse to do this permanent crisis cry to tune in. They are convinced that criticism of those in power in politics and business can be harsh – but must always comply with the rules of civilized behavior.
Nevertheless, I got thoughtful when I pulled the book by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt off the shelf at the turn of the year: In her bestseller “How Democracies Die” The political scientists describe how stable democracies can rapidly transform into autocratic states when several factors come together – including drastic crises, but above all elected politicians who no longer act according to the rules of pluralism, respect and separation of powers, but rather revoke the democratic consensus. about theirs Power to increase. Just because a politician was elected democratically does not mean that he will behave democratically. Donald Trump is the blueprint for this frightening realization, guys like Björn Höcke they are in this country. And with speakers like Wagenknecht, Weidel and Aiwanger there is at least the suspicion that they too would be willing to violate democratic and constitutional rules if it helped their interests.
It is all the more depressing that so many people fall for these agitators. This may also be due to the fact that many citizens no longer get information from reputable sources, but instead believe every piece of nonsense that spills into their cell phones via Telegram, WhatsApp and the like. There, people rush and lie as much as they can. There will Robert Habeck the henchman of a criminal climate protection lobby, the Ukrainian president Selenskyj to the drug addict and the EU the tool of a capitalist group of conspirators around the billionaire George Soros: There is no nonsense that doesn’t exist online.
Digital stupidity is becoming a threat to the existence of our democracy. At the beginning of the super election year 2024, the country doesn’t just need more Trust, but above all more Reason. Reasonable citizens need to raise their voices before they are shouted down by the ranting and radicals. Anyone who makes reason the standard for their actions will think twice about whether they are really doing so out of protest AfD who wants to force Germany out of the EU, who shows leniency for Putin’s brutal imperialism and whose ranks of neo-Nazis are becoming increasingly loud. He’ll think twice about meeting an obscure figure like that Hans-Georg Maaßen applauded, who now also wants to found a right-wing splinter party. And he’ll probably think twice about whether he believes anything Mrs. Wagenknecht tells about the long day.
Today the former left-wing politician wants to celebrate the founding of her own party. For this she has political professionals such as the financial expert Fabio De Masi and donors like the millionaire Ralph Suikat won.
Wagenknecht can already count on a large potential voter base. Many people see her as the mouthpiece for all the grievances in the country. She can undoubtedly speak razor-sharply. At the same time, Wagenknecht poses more puzzles than she creates ideas. She intentionally remains ambiguous and likes to denounce undesirable political developments, but rarely suggests practical solutions. She plays the game of populism with virtuosity and lulls people who are put off by traffic light chaos. This tactic can also be seen on the Wagenknecht party website: a lot of criticism, hardly any suggestions for improvement. This is transparent at best. Shabby at worst.
Farmers angry
From morning to evening appointments, bodyguards, television cameras: Top politicians live in a world of their own. In principle, this cannot be blamed on them. But one can question whether they are still aware of life in the country in their bubble – especially the consequences of their decisions for other people. In this regard, the traffic light people have been noticed several times for their lack of empathy.
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