Dare to be more poetic!
Maxim Gorky spoke of the poetry of work. Why doesn't our Minister of Economic Affairs take up this idea and bring more poetry into politics?
by Alexander Kira
by Alexander Kira
"Young people still do not feel the poetry of work deeply enough," Maxim Gorki once said. If our Vice Chancellor had been inspired by these words, his current Habeckiade in the People's Republic of China could have been avoided. No appointment with the President, the feeling of having wasted a lot of kerosene for nothing and tired eyes during confrontational discussions. Not a great result. Our talented Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. phil. Robert Habeck, could have saved himself all that and instead achieved a huge success. How? The answer is in front of his name. Because unlike many other colleagues who have resorted to adventurous means for the decorative two letters in front of their names, these are hard-earned: Dr. phil. Habeck: Don't hide! Let the Dr. and above all the poet in you free:
The role of the tough Minister of Economic Affairs - no problem! Why not summarize the current situation with an apt poem and give hope through beauty? Why not inspire with quotes from world literature and surprising thoughts, rather than looking at real politics in stunned amazement? Who could do this better than someone who published his first volume of poetry at the age of 21? The 2,187 employees of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection can provide the technical details, tables and reports. He will never be able to do it as well as they do. Why should he? Who of the 2,187 has published more than one novel? Which of the 2,187 have their works shown on prime-time television and breaking ratings records? The TV ratings for his crime novel Hauke Haiens Tod alone would leave our Minister of Economic Affairs pretty cold about the election results. Let us leave aside this somewhat questionable breach of the separation of powers (the media being the fourth power). Our Chancellor, with his rather cautious manner, would certainly be no competitor to him. Rather, one would ask whether it would not be better for the Vice Chancellor to step in and publish his speeches on Audible. As Minister of Economic Affairs, David Precht would immediately understand the situation and not speak for a second about politics, leaving the specialist departments to deal with the details.
That would also have helped with the Habeckiade in China: the role of the China critic only seemed to suit our Vice Chancellor as much as the suit and tie he wore (the latter temporarily) or Karl Lauterbach as Volker Wissing's opponent in a cooking duel. How much could he have shone if he had drawn parallels between the European and the great Chinese literary and philosophical traditions? This passage of his speech would hardly have been doubted by him as a Dr. philosophiae. And it would certainly have opened hearts to some of the honest words of his specialist speakers - more than formulations such as the "space of intuition", which are more likely to give rise to basic philosophical research. An entertaining poetry lecture would not have given him a sleepless night on a government plane (at most out of anticipation) but an appointment with the President of the People's Republic of China. Including airtime on state television and the opening of the Robert Habeck Library. Of course, the Chinese government could have anticipated him and offered an alternative appointment with the state book publisher - but they probably didn't want to do it so obviously.
Are there any best practices for this? In France, it is more than common for politicians to go the other way and publish novels. And there was François Mitterrand. The French considered him a super intellectual and quite aloof. In a TV candidate debate, his opponent once said: "Mr. President. Since we are both running for the same office, I suggest that we meet on equal terms and that I therefore address you as Mr. Mitterand." "Of course, Mr. President of the Republic." was the smug, arrogant, playful answer that the French would not have forgiven an ordinary politician for. Mitterand was given another term in office. And va, Dr. phil. Robert Habeck.
07/05/2024
Alexander Kira has written about international human rights protection and is a lawyer, presenter and cabaret artist. He lives and writes in the heart of Berlin.
The role of the tough Minister of Economic Affairs - no problem! Why not summarize the current situation with an apt poem and give hope through beauty? Why not inspire with quotes from world literature and surprising thoughts, rather than looking at real politics in stunned amazement? Who could do this better than someone who published his first volume of poetry at the age of 21? The 2,187 employees of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection can provide the technical details, tables and reports. He will never be able to do it as well as they do. Why should he? Who of the 2,187 has published more than one novel? Which of the 2,187 have their works shown on prime-time television and breaking ratings records? The TV ratings for his crime novel Hauke Haiens Tod alone would leave our Minister of Economic Affairs pretty cold about the election results. Let us leave aside this somewhat questionable breach of the separation of powers (the media being the fourth power). Our Chancellor, with his rather cautious manner, would certainly be no competitor to him. Rather, one would ask whether it would not be better for the Vice Chancellor to step in and publish his speeches on Audible. As Minister of Economic Affairs, David Precht would immediately understand the situation and not speak for a second about politics, leaving the specialist departments to deal with the details.
That would also have helped with the Habeckiade in China: the role of the China critic only seemed to suit our Vice Chancellor as much as the suit and tie he wore (the latter temporarily) or Karl Lauterbach as Volker Wissing's opponent in a cooking duel. How much could he have shone if he had drawn parallels between the European and the great Chinese literary and philosophical traditions? This passage of his speech would hardly have been doubted by him as a Dr. philosophiae. And it would certainly have opened hearts to some of the honest words of his specialist speakers - more than formulations such as the "space of intuition", which are more likely to give rise to basic philosophical research. An entertaining poetry lecture would not have given him a sleepless night on a government plane (at most out of anticipation) but an appointment with the President of the People's Republic of China. Including airtime on state television and the opening of the Robert Habeck Library. Of course, the Chinese government could have anticipated him and offered an alternative appointment with the state book publisher - but they probably didn't want to do it so obviously.
Are there any best practices for this? In France, it is more than common for politicians to go the other way and publish novels. And there was François Mitterrand. The French considered him a super intellectual and quite aloof. In a TV candidate debate, his opponent once said: "Mr. President. Since we are both running for the same office, I suggest that we meet on equal terms and that I therefore address you as Mr. Mitterand." "Of course, Mr. President of the Republic." was the smug, arrogant, playful answer that the French would not have forgiven an ordinary politician for. Mitterand was given another term in office. And va, Dr. phil. Robert Habeck.
07/05/2024
Alexander Kira has written about international human rights protection and is a lawyer, presenter and cabaret artist. He lives and writes in the heart of Berlin.
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