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The CDU faction vice Jens Spahn (CDU)
Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Twitter is considered an important seismograph of political debates in Germany - hardly any politician can avoid the short message service.
At the same time, users are regularly frustrated by the aggressive mood on Twitter.
Former Minister of Health Jens Spahn has now announced his withdrawal from the platform.
He no longer has the app on his cell phone, said the CDU politician in the podcast "Die Wochentester" of the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" and the editorial network Germany.
"It puts you in a bad mood," says Spahn: "If you're standing in the elevator every time you get into the car, have a quiet second, look at Twitter first, it's almost a little addiction, and look what's going on now?
Unconsciously, it really puts you in a bad mood.” He felt “a better mood” after he no longer had Twitter on his cell phone.
»Three shitstorms in parallel«
In addition, Spahn has noticed that the topics on Twitter are very one-sided and often have little to do with real broad-based debates.
He had "sometimes had three shitstorms at the same time," "because some statement or some political activity (...) didn't please part of the Twitter bubble."
On site in the constituencies, however, he then experienced that the topics of the events and discussions were not the Twitter topics.
Spahn, who was Federal Minister of Health from 2018 to 2021, has just published the book »We will have to forgive each other a lot.
How the pandemic has changed us - and what it teaches us for the future".
It also deals with the culture of debate during the pandemic.
He is not the first politician to turn his back on Twitter.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had already withdrawn from Twitter and Facebook in 2019.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert, who often and happily took part in debate battles on Twitter, announced his withdrawal from the network last week.
mrc/dpa