by Peter Löcke //
"We are surrounded by reality."
When Robert Habeck said that during Anne Will's farewell talk, I felt close to him. Being surrounded by something? It's a familiar feeling. Whether real or imagined - for those affected like me and Robert, it's an oppressive state of mind. It leads to fear and panic, sometimes to paranoia. Any malice is out of place here. As identical as the feeling of anxiety may be for me and the German Minister of Economic Affairs, the causes are quite the opposite.
"I am surrounded by unreality."
That's how I've felt since March 2020. Nobody has to worry about me. I find relief by writing columns. It's my outlet when I feel oppressed by unreality. What outlet does the German Minister for Economic Affairs have when reality attacks him? Let's go in search of clues. Robert & reality - the tense relationship between the reality of life on the one hand and Habeck as a person on the other has a long history.
"I washed some clothes five days ago. They've been sitting in the hallway for five days. I haven't done the dishes in ten days, the garbage hasn't been taken out, I'm out of milk. This morning I ate muesli with water ... no shit. I had no more milk and no more oat milk ... nothing at all."
This is what Robert Habeck said to Spiegel reporter Markus Feldenkirchen in a WDR promotional film disguised as a portrait in December 2021. Obviously, the work-life balance of a politician has gotten out of hand. In a case like this, constructive, life-affirming and solution-oriented advice is needed. My suggestion? The estimated 100,000 euros per year for a personal Habeck photographer, or around 7,300 per month, could be used by his ministry for a permanent domestic help (m/f/d). She cleans, irons and folds Habeck's dirty laundry and does his shopping, including the milk. It doesn't necessarily have to be AfD-sympathizing Müller milk. Freed from the challenges of everyday life Habeck should devote all his energy to his true purpose, which is the progressive transformation of the planet. What writing is to me, saving the world is to Habeck. It's his outlet when he feels surrounded by reality. But on with the story Robert & reality.
"We have to Accept reality and solve the specific problems."
The usual phrase of a politician, because it can always be used? You would think so. But this Habeck bon mot was an appeal directed at his own party. It was a call to the critical party base to look reality in the eye when it comes to the sensitive issue of migration. The sentence stuck with me. Shouldn't it be a matter of course to accept reality and, conversely, does that mean that the Greens were previously living in a dream world? What takes priority? Ideology or reality? The Minister of Economic Affairs seemed to read my mind. He answered my question at the Green Party conference.
"Our ideology is called reality."
Please what? This is where I reach my hermeneutical limits. One can only speculate what was meant by this cryptic formulation. I suspect that the German Economics Minister was looking for a meaningful-sounding sentence when drafting his speech that would make it into all the gazettes as a headline. Mission accomplished! And he succeeded.
Unfortunately, Habeck did not manage to convince me on Anne Will. On the occasion of the German talk show legend's last appearance, I watched the program in its entirety. I still regret it today. I felt surrounded by unreality. I would like to thank you for the funny moments. Especially the moment when the wasteful use of tax revenue by the traffic lights was questioned and Habeck justified himself.
"You may sometimes perceive it that way ... the state is splashing out money. But the money always has a recipient. It always goes somewhere."
Dear Mr. Habeck. I would like to give you some well-intentioned advice on the realities of life. If your wife Andrea Paluch visits you soon, I read about a long-distance relationship, and there are 2,000 euros missing from the joint household budget - don't reply that the money had a recipient and went somewhere. That would be a bad idea. Your wife will not be satisfied with this answer.
The state has a fortune in tax revenue. Last year it was just under 900 billion euros. That is the reality. If, in agreement with Christian Lindner, you simply squander the money and lead Germany into unchecked national bankruptcy, you are behaving like the soccer legend George Best. When he was asked where his entire fortune had gone, he said the following:
"I spent a lot of my money on alcohol, women and fast cars. I just squandered the rest."
Joke come out, you're surrounded!
Articles identified by name do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher.
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5 Responses
Allen drei Kommentaren kann ich nur vollumfänglich beipflichten und will nur anmerken: Der markante Satz mit der „Umzingelung“ lief selbst mir unübersehbar über den Weg, der herkömmlichen Medien seit langem vollständig entsagt, jedoch bis gestern genau fünf Wochen lang einem ungewollten, technisch bedingten Netz-Fasten ausgesetzt war. Dazu, der Wahrnehmung des Satzes, genügte gelegentliches Netz-Asyl anderswo zur Erledigung des Allernötigsten. Also fraglos ein prominenter Satz, der dem infantilisierenden Buchautor bei der Anne, die wollte, gelang!
Das eigentliche Problem ist, dass einem Blinden das Ministerium der Bilder übergeben wurde.
Bingo!
Ich stelle mir den Bundesminister in seiner gepanzerten Dienstlimo auf dem Weg zum Bioladen vor. Anbei der unvermeidliche Personenschutz in einem übermotorisiertem SUV mit Sonnenbrillen und 9 Millimeter Wummen. Zu allem Überfluss noch so eine Hafermilch Story daher zu stammeln, ist doch eine Beleidigung der Intelligenz selbst der nicht besonders hellen Köpfe. Sich von Wirklichkeit umzingelt zu fühlen, läßt mich ahnen, dass Robert Habeck sich im Unwirklichen weniger bedrängt, sozusagen geborgen bzw. heimisch fühlt. Eine Realitätsferne als Lebensprinzip ist hier möglicherweise Grundlage des politischen Handelns. Darüberhinaus durchwebt mit einem quasi religiösen Sendungsbewußtsein, das natürlich daran glaubt, dass der Zweck die Mittel heiligt, sozusagen über dem Gesetz steht. Das hatten wir schon mal – als damals das Narrativ zusammenzubrechen drohte, wurde die Inquisition eingeführt und die Realität dem Glauben rücksichtslos unterworfen. Manche sehen da Parallelen zu aktuellen Entwicklungen. Leider ist die Rettung fern, wenn man von Alice Weidel zu hören bekommt, dass Henry Kissinger ein Guter gewesen sei. Da hat sie sich wohl zu sehr ihrer Herkunft aus der angelsächsischen Finanzindustrie verpflichtet gefühlt und vergessen, dass genau dieser Mensch Vorläufer des Vereins von einem gewissen Klaus Schwab auf den Weg brachte und in düsteren Zeiten die amerikanische Außenpolitik bestimmte.
Es ist unglaublich, mit welch bösartiger Ignoranz dieser Kinderbuchautor die ungeheuerliche Steuerverschwendung in diesem Land schön redet. Man könnte meinen, er gehört zu den Grünen. Die beiden vermeintlich wichtigsten Politiker nach einem unfähigen und vergesslichen Bundeskanzler wirtschaften uns in den Ruin bzw. machen Deutschland in der Welt lächerlich. Es tut Not, hier etwas zu verändern.