Did the Green Leader disqualify himself through his statements about Trump? That’s what Norbert Röttgen claimed after Habeck’s criticism of the US president. But Röttgen is actually about something else.
It actually went well for everyone: for Donald Trump, For Robert Habeck and now for Norbert Röttgen, The CDU– Foreign politician has criticized Robert Habeck after the Green Leader was horrified at the US President’s speech on the World Economic Forum had reacted.
What at first glance looks like a media exchange is a polonaise: one dances off, the others follow.
Photo series with 14 pictures
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Trump made the first serve. He praised his own policy in Davos: “America is experiencing a boom that has never been seen before,” he said. And: “This is not a time for pessimism, this is a time for optimism.” In allusion to the climate change movement, he added: “We must reject the eternal prophets of doom and the predictions of an apocalypse.”
Robert Habeck was stunned after the appearance of the US President: “Trump’s speech was a disaster for the conference.” The speech was the worst he had ever heard. Habeck even said about Trump: “He is the opponent. He stands for all the problems we have.”
Röttgen in turn reacted strongly to Habeck’s criticism. “It is an achievement to disqualify yourself by criticizing President Trump; Habeck has succeeded in doing this,” he told the editorial network Germany. Habeck’s statement that Trump was “the opponent, he stands for all the problems we have” reveal “at least one terrifying foreign policy stupidity of the green top man”. After all, Trump was “the country’s democratically elected president, which is the backbone of our own security.”
The CDU politician does what he has to do
No question: Röttgen chooses drastic words. But if you scratch the patina a little, remove a little pathos, delete a few rhetorical tricks, there is a statement that is not interesting. Of course, a CDU politician has to prick a Greens who said something against a US president. It is the role of the CDU to remember how close the ties between Germany and the United States are.
Röttgen said exactly what he had to say. The fact that the world took notice of it was only possible because Röttgen overstated his absolutely expected attitude so that he could be sure of attention.
And it worked: In the morning, the news made the rounds with Röttgen’s quotes, a short time later Röttgen posted his statements on Twitter. Better safe than sorry. And the media stunt was a success: Röttgen is beating Habeck, Röttgen is chasing Habeck, Röttgen is attacking Habeck. The headlines filled up.
The statements follow a certain pattern
But the truth also belongs: Röttgen did not start, he just participates. The US president, the Green leader and the foreign politician follow the same choreography: a politician takes the exact position that can be expected of him. In order to surprise, he formulates his opinion so exaggeratedly that it is hardly noticeable how uninteresting the content is. A small lunge with a big impact.
This applies to Trump as well as to Habeck and Röttgen: No one had expected that the US President would reveal himself as an environmentalist at the World Economic Forum or that he could be overwhelmed by a modesty. Trump said what he always said: That the United States is doing great. And that the world faces a great future, the only problem of which is those who question it. Of course, the Green Leader didn’t like that. Which in turn did not please the CDU politician.
It is important that the criticism of the previous speaker was exaggerated. This is the only way the next critic can criticize the criticism of the criticism. If Habeck had made a differentiated statement about Trump, Röttgen would not have had a chance to weather it.
Habeck rowed back long ago
Habeck has long since withdrawn some of his statements. In an interview with n-tv, the politician emphasized that Germany owes a lot to the USA, including the liberation from fascism. All of this cannot be destroyed by a US president. You have to visit him, but you also have to contradict him. One could perhaps do this a little more politely than he did “in the first brast”. In fact, Habeck actually spoke very spontaneously at first: The video showing his reaction was created immediately after the speech by the US President.
With this, Habeck may also say everything there is to say about his first comment. In the turmoil surrounding Röttgen’s media stunt, this was completely lost.
Incidentally, the media polonaise that Trump, Habeck and Röttgen have performed together is not a new fashion either, it may be as old as the media itself. It would only be nice to not forget what it is all about Davos is actually about: our future.
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