Berlin.
Minister of Justice Buschmann about his childhood in the Ruhr area, his rise in politics – and why he composed campaign songs.
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) has taken a consistent approach in the fight against criminal clan members demanded, which are also “present” in his constituency in the south of Gelsenkirchen. Consistently, that means “a bit harder”, says Buschmann in the BrostCast, the Ruhr area podcast of the Essen Brost Foundation. “There are bad people, and the rule of law must oppose them.”
Buschmann, 45, has “very positive memories” of his childhood in Gelsenkirchen. His family represents the “middle or lower middle class.” At times the family lived in five on 70 square meters, “with the sick grandmother on the sofa”. His first own room, four and a half square meters, he felt as “total luxury”. In the morning he folded the bed into the wall unit, “otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to sit at my desk”.
neighborhood help and cohesion He found the colliery settlement in the Erle district to be “down-to-earth and very, very nice”. The maxims of his upbringing in the Ruhr area: “Whying doesn’t help. Put nothing in, you’ll get nothing out. And don’t hit the shit like that.” Although he grew up within earshot of the Schalke Arena, he had “no talent at all for football. I was faster with my head than with my feet.”
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Marco Buschmann: He had actually already finished with politics
Buschmann came to politics by accident because a teacher had a defect VHS recorder swore. Her explanation: comprehensive schools are well equipped, high schools are neglected. Buschmann followed suit and ended up with the Young Liberals. After his studies, already a lawyer in a large Düsseldorf law firm, Buschmann had “completed politics”.
But the FDP’s good result in 2009 gave the Gelsenkirchen Liberals a seat in the Bundestag for the first time in the history of German democracy. “You only get the chance once in a lifetime.” He said to himself: “Do it now.” After the FDP was thrown out of parliament in 2013, Buschmann met Hubertus Heil. The SPD politician, to whom Buschmann feels connected, advised against party office. That same night, he offered Christian Lindner his resignation via text message, “even though I’m friends with him.” The FDP leader declined.
Buschmann composed campaign songs
Because the party had no money, Buschmann composed several campaign songs. When he was a student, his grandmother gave him keyboard lessons. On an Atari ST he tinkered “a few minutes of sounds every day, no matter how bad.” He also provided “Curious Sound Effects” for the band Los Penderejos, an artificial name. “We were in Tarantino fever back then, so everything had to sound Spanish.”
Buschmann adores “great artists” such as Vangelis, Hans Zimmer and John Williams, who have won multiple Oscars for their film scores. “They really let it rip.” Under the stage name MBSounds, he releases pompous pieces with dramatic titles such as “Excalibur calls Arthur” on the Soundcloud streaming service. The Attorney General, a nerd? “Yes, absolutely. Music is the best hobby in the world.” But he is not a DJ, as has been claimed several times: “I wouldn’t even know how it works.”
Buschmann calmly endures the fact that his hometown, which is governed by social democrats, is trying to “ignore as much as possible” its first and only federal minister. His mother was “terribly proud. And that makes me happy.” Will there ever be a Bushman memorial in Gelsenkirchen? The minister refuses. “That would be rather embarrassing for me.” (fmg)
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