Transformation of the Scholzomat?
Chancellor has a new favorite word
Created: 07/03/2022, 12:30 p.m
By: Andreas Schmid
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) © Michael Kappeler/dpa
Olaf Scholz a gifted speaker?
This question may have different answers.
The chancellor now seems to have changed his rhetoric.
Berlin - Chancellor Olaf Scholz seems to have found a new favorite word: the "embassy".
The SPD politician is repeatedly accused of not being convincing in public speeches.
things not to be clearly addressed.
Instead of blustering past the topic in cryptic sentences.
His monotonous voice is "refreshingly boring", remarked a linguist in an interview with
Merkur.de
.
The transformation of the Scholzomat?
"Messages, messages, messages"
Recently, however, the Chancellor was seen a little more alive.
So he answered an ARD question whether he had savings tips for the population like Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck with a succinct to snotty "Nope".
He allowed a journalist to appear at the G7 summit in Elmau, where he answered the question of whether he could specify the security guarantees for Ukraine with a "Yes, I could".
Whether that goes down well with everyone is questionable.
However, a certain transformation of the "Scholzomaten" seems to be observable.
At the moment, Scholz likes to talk about “messages”.
In press conferences, the chancellor explains what specific messages (should) be coming from his policy.
At the G7 summit, for example, he summarized the findings in "three core messages".
In his television address on the Ukraine war, he spoke of "four guidelines".
First.
Secondly.
Third.
Fourth.
That seems easier to stick with than Scholz's bureaucratic German, lacking in enthusiasm.
Scholz speech: The same “message” from the Chancellor three times
Linguists call the repetition of a certain term anaphora.
It is a popular rhetorical device to anchor what is said more firmly in the listener's memory.
In his current video speech from Saturday (July 2nd), Scholz again relied on the anaphor.
He called on the population to unite.
Striking: In the 90-second video published on Twitter, Scholz speaks of "message" three times.
The Chancellor also stated three times what message his statement should convey: It's about "hooking and sticking together".
Scholz first explains what happens "when we link arms and stick together" and then concludes with "We have to link arms and stick together".
This statement is deliberately formulated last so that it stays in the memory the strongest.
The Chancellor's speech in full:
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When we link arms and stick together, we are strong. That is the message that came out from the European Council in Brussels, when we gave the countries of the western Balkans new impetus for their accession process to the European Union and also invited Ukraine, for example, and Moldova.
So was the embassy in Elmau, Germany, when the big, economically powerful democracies gathered and spoke to each other about the challenges we face, including because of the war that Russia has started against Ukraine. But also, for example, how we deal with energy security issues and climate change and world hunger.
And that was also the message at the NATO summit when we invited Finland and Sweden to become members. When we link arms and stick together, we are strong. This also applies to our country.
The big problem that is currently affecting many citizens in Germany – and rightly so – is the rising prices, inflation, that everything is getting more expensive. And here, too, we must act together. That's why I invited trade unions, employers' associations, the Bundesbank and scientists, as was the case in such difficult times in the 1960s and 1970s, to talk to us about what we were doing. Because the same applies to our country: we have to join hands and stick together.
