There's Scholz: Chancellor does what Merkel never wanted - and Habeck has long since let go

Created: 02/13/2022, 20:55

By: Andreas Schmid

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his predecessor Angela Merkel on Sunday at the election for the Federal President.

© Frank Ossenbrink/Imago

Olaf Scholz addressed his word to the population on Sunday evening - in an unprecedented form on social media.

Berlin – "Where's Scholz?" - a question that has recently been asked more and more on social media such as Twitter.

Critics accused the Chancellor of not being present in politically difficult times.

Political opponents such as Union MPs also complained that Olaf Scholz acts too much in the background.

Now the SPD politician has taken a step towards more presence - at least on social media.

"Hello Twitter": Olaf Scholz now has his own Chancellor channel

The @Bundeskanzler account has been on Twitter since Sunday (February 13).

Olaf Scholz previously had the @OlafScholz account, but so far there has been no official government channel.

In his first contribution as @Bundeskanzler, Scholz congratulated Frank-Walter Steinmeier on his re-election as Federal President: "Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave the citizens orientation in difficult times and held the highest office in the state with passion.

I'm glad he will continue to do so.

Congratulations, dear Federal President.” Finally, Hanseatic Scholz had a little greeting ready for his followers.

"And: Hello, Twitter!"

According to his own statement, Scholz wants to give insights into his government work on the channel.

It is unclear whether he deliberately chose the time of the first contribution in view of the fluctuating poll numbers.

One thing is certain: Chancellor Olaf Scholz follows a total of 61 accounts on Twitter.

Among them are cabinet members such as Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) or Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).

Also among the followers: international heads of state such as Boris Johnson (Great Britain), Emmanuel Macron (France), Mark Rutte (Netherlands) and Karl Nehammer (Austria).

Twitter: Merkel never had an account - Habeck deleted his

Many politicians use Twitter to communicate quickly with the population and, of course, also to address political messages to an audience of millions.

Former US President Donald Trump, for example, understood perfectly how to use social networks for his politics - albeit in a polarizing and sometimes dubious way.

Scholz' predecessor Angela Merkel, on the other hand, went a different way.

The longtime chancellor did not have a Twitter account, but did have an account on Instagram.

A social media team gave insights into everyday life in Merkel on the photo platform, but political messages were rarely seen on Instagram.

Incidentally, there are only three politicians in the current federal cabinet who do not have a Twitter account.

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), Family Minister Anne Spiegel (Greens) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).

Vice Chancellor Habeck once maintained a Twitter account, but withdrew from the short message service and Facebook in 2019.

The Greens boss at the time wrote on his website: "Twitter is more aggressive than any other digital medium and there is no other medium with so much hatred, maliciousness and hate speech." Habeck, who also does not have a Twitter account in 2022, also wrote: "It may be that this is a political mistake because I deprive myself of the reach and direct communication with quite a few people.

But I know that it would be a bigger mistake not to take this step.” This was preceded by excitement about a Twitter video by Habeck.

It remains to be seen how Twitter will appreciate the new chancellor account.

After all, 24,000 people followed the Chancellor on Sunday evening.