The correspondence between Schiller and Goethe comprises 1,185 pages. Siegfried Unseld exchanged views with Thomas Bernhard on 800 pages. And the letters that Max Frisch wrote to Ingeborg Bachmann and Uwe Johnson – and those to him – are also among the finest and most comprehensive that this literary genre has to offer.
In this respect, the correspondence between the Greens Florian Stegmann and Andreas Schwarz is a little off. At least in terms of scope. Because so far it only amounts to four pages, all of which come from one pen – that of the Minister of State in the Ministry of State. And even the thing about the spring is only partially true. Stegmann signed it by hand. But the salutation “Dear Mr. Group Chairman” is already printed.
But before we once again lament the decline of the West, it should be pointed out that a letter is better than none. It’s bad enough that the group leader didn’t answer. And that the Prime Minister actually questions the necessity of a letter between party friends. “You don’t have to, but that’s what he did,” says the head of the head of the State Chancellery.
It would be a shame if Stegmann allowed himself to be discouraged by this. Posterity could miss out on a delicious read. However, it is important that the author ensures that all his letters find their way to SWR. As a storage location, we recommend the park bench in Washington, where, according to FDP parliamentary group leader Rülke, the first copy was already found.
