Borchardt politicians meeting in Berlin
Photo:? Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters / REUTERS
Since Corona, Berlin paparazzi have been chasing a new target: topless political celebrities. FDP boss Christian Lindner caught them in front of a restaurant in May when he warmly hugged his companion once more as he said goodbye; he had the face mask under his chin. Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann was shot down naked at Tegel Airport in mid-June: he crunched chocolate lentils. Last weekend it hit Ricarda Lang, Vice-President of the Greens. An eager fellow traveler photographed her without a mask on the ICE. He himself had apparently hidden behind two backrests. We know this kind of recordings from the Stasi Museum on Normannenstrasse in Berlin.
The cases caused a sensation on social media. Politician without mask: scandal, scandal, scandal! In the case of Lindner, it was aggravating that his companion was an honorary consul from Belarus, not a liberal model country. Long-time ZDFneo presenter Jan Böhmermann was so outraged by Lindner that he even distributed his topless photo several times to his 2.1 million followers, most recently a few days ago.
In the case of Ricarda Lang, it was the McDonald's bag on the table that spurred some critics on. A Green party friend had recently called for a TV advertising ban for fast food. "Enjoy it, Ricarda!" Tweeted the digital political spokeswoman for the AfD parliamentary group, Joana Cotar. In addition to the snapshot, she even included the word "overweight"; then the right entourage laughed.
Now I am not one of those people who consider mask and distance requirements superfluous, on the contrary. I find it useful and reasonable. It would be nice if everyone stuck to it.
Not even Böhmermann could claim to always do everything right.
I believe, however, that we will end up in the devil's kitchen when Corona pests go on the hunt for politicians with the mobile phone camera and deputies like Böhmermann and Cotar then spread the photos. It may be that ZDFneo considers the protection of privacy to be philistine and the AfD for systematic hearing. But in my opinion, politicians also have personal rights, especially when they are after work.
This does not excuse any wrongdoing. But a violation of the mask requirement is far too little to be photographed and pilloried. I suspect that no one, possibly not even Jan Böhmermann, can claim to always do everything right when it comes to Corona.
At the beginning of this pandemic one could often read that the crisis brought out the good in people: consideration, mindfulness and solidarity. Unfortunately, this pious wish has not been fulfilled. My impression is that things are going in the other direction. It's amazing how quickly decency and respect can crumble when our society comes under pressure.
Icon: The mirror
