Berlin / Aachen
Foreign Minister Baerbock received the “Order against animal seriousness” in Aachen. FDP politician Strack-Zimmermann stole the show from her.
Music, Alaaf and women’s power: the FDP defense politician appeared in a kind of vampire costume Marie Agnes Strack Zimmermann at the award of the “Order against animal seriousness” of the Aachen Carnival Association (AKV).
With wildly teased hair and a black cape, she took on the men – especially CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who had described Ukrainian refugees as “social tourists” and the sons of migrants as “little pashas”.
Strack-Zimmermann: “Quite formidable from head to toe”
At the carnival, Strack-Zimmermann stuck to the pithy line: “Quite formidable from head to toe, undoubtedly ministrative, in every talk show a win because I’m the horniest,” was how the member of the Bundestag from Düsseldorf introduced herself.
But there were also serious tones: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock managed the balancing act between foolish cheerfulness and a threatening world situation. It is currently not easy to maintain confidence and humor, said the 42-year-old Green politician on Saturday evening in her knight’s speech, which was well applauded at a sold-out audience Aachen Eurogress In North Rhine-Westphalia. The AKV honors Baerbock with the award as a “modern knight in the best sense” who campaigns for peace, democracy and human rights.
Baerbock said she had long considered whether it was right to celebrate and laugh while Russia waged a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. The carnival but stand for the fact that, despite a hard argument, one can always remain human and laugh at one another and above all with one another, she emphasized in her ironic and thoughtful appearance in the fool’s cage. “I believe it is our humanity that makes us strong in our response to this cynical war.”
As leopard Baerbock didn’t want to come in disguise out of concern “that the Chancellery wouldn’t give me a travel permit for weeks” – so she decided on a black pantsuit and jester’s cap. As never before in the history of the awarding of medals, it was mainly women who called the shots in front of the audience, which was peppered with political celebrities: the eulogy was given by the previous year’s knight Iris Berben, moderator of the evening was Sandra Maischberger. Baerbock spoke about “feminist foreign policy”, criticized the low proportion of women in the FDP and made fun of the fact that she is only the eighth woman among the 73 knights since 1950 – and the first “green woman”.
The undisguised SPD leader received a lot of applause for his handmade speech Lars Klingbeil, who self-deprecatingly outed himself as a carnival newcomer from Lower Saxony and a “personal integration project”, handed it out to the political competition and then played a ukulele. He is a North German and chairman of the SPD, “you really don’t care much about having fun”. The Social Democrats, with Olaf Scholz, got into the Chancellery with a simple recipe: “We just didn’t argue.”
The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of the Interior Herbert ReulCDU, spoke in a red-green radio uniform and thanked the police officers deployed to clear Lützerath for their efforts.
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An order for prominent personalities with humor and humanity
Also comedy among other things with Guido Cantz and cabaret with Wilfried Schmickler as Emperor Charlemagne were part of the program. The “Order against animal seriousness” has been awarded annually since 1950 to prominent personalities with humor and humanity, often politicians. Earlier winners include the politicians Konrad Adenauer (CDU), Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP), Cem Özdemir (Greens) and Gregor Gysi (Left). (kat/dpa)
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