Böhmermann compares the FDP with the RAF - "Is Mainz going completely nuts now?"

Created: 11/26/2022, 4:22 p.m

By: Victoria Krumbeck

Jan Böhmermann is being talked about again.

This time he compared the FDP to the RAF and sparked a heated discussion on Twitter.

Munich/Cologne – Most people will probably have an opinion about Jan Böhmermann.

The moderator and journalist polarizes and not only with poems about heads of state.

A debate has erupted on Twitter.

In his late-night show ZDF Magazin Royale on November 25, Böhmermann compared the FDP to the terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF).

Reason: The activities of the environmental group "Last Generation".

The reactions were not long in coming.

Böhmermann compares FDP with RAF: "Last generation" is the cause

But first from the beginning.

Why did Böhmermann and his team come up with the idea of ​​comparing the FDP with the RAF?

The reason for this are statements by politicians who compared the climate activist group “Last Generation” with the RAF.

Numerous elected officials have described the “Last Generation” as a terrorist group.

Böhmermann showed some examples in his program.

The AfD politician Beatrix Storch described the "last generation" as "climate terrorists" and called them "Green RAF".

Stephan Brandner, parliamentary director of the AfD, also used the word "climate terrorists" in the Bundestag.

Politicians compare people who stick to the streets with terrorists who murdered 34 people.

The journalist and presenter Jan Böhmermann.

© Malte Ossowski/IMAGO

In addition to the AfD, former Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer also uses the term "Climate RAF".

In the ARD morning show of November 8, 2022, he said: "We must prevent a climate RAF from emerging".

Scheuer attracted attention again a few days ago with a tweet about the "last generation".

In this, the CSU politician described the activists as "climate criminals".

Böhmermann shows connections between RAF and FDP - Twitter reacts

In order to show how absurd the choice of words is, Böhmermann compares the FDP with the RAF.

His arguments?

Pulled out of thin air, as can be clearly seen in the line of argument.

The journalist and wife of FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Franca Lehfeldt, works for the broadcaster "Welt." Böhmermann describes the Welt group as an anti-state activist association.

The reason is clear to him.

The "e" of the "WeLT" station is lowercase.

The letters of confession from the RAF were also written in lower case.

Thus, according to Böhmermann, the connection between the FDP and the RAF is there.

Two questions can be derived from the show.

Twitter is a discussion about what satire is allowed to do.

At the same time, there is talk about how broadcasting contributions are spent.

Appropriately, Böhmermann already led the broadcast contribution debate in his broadcast on November 4th.

Andreas Scheuer, whose statement about the “Climate RAF” was shown on the show, also spoke on Twitter.

"How does the riot box [Jan Böhmermann] do justice to the program mandate of the ÖRR?" he asked.

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Böhmermann FDP-RAF comparison: "Toxic and highly flammable"?

The Baden-Württemberg Minister of Finance, Danyal Bayaz, warned against the after-effects of such comparisons.

"Targeting people is toxic and highly dangerous - even in the name of satire.

Please get some fresh air and pause," wrote the Green politician.

Media representatives also commented on the debate.

Bild's head of politics, Jan Schäfer, commented on Twitter: "ZDF, financed by fees and obliged to provide basic service, uses a hashtag that has nothing to do with satire anymore.

Tell me, are you going completely nuts in Mainz now?” he wrote.

No matter what debate brought Böhmermann's comparison, he managed to draw attention to the extreme comparison between climate activists and the RAF.

Time will tell whether the new FDP-RAF comparison will lead to a more sensitive choice of words about the “last generation”.