MGentlemen, one often thought these days, the Ukrainians have mastered modern communication in the age of social media. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj sends mobile phone videos that elegantly turn into speeches, people tweet and stroll through Kyiv in selfie mode with coffee mugs, something that has never been seen before. And that in the middle of a cruel war, under constant mortal danger, threatened by bombs and assassins. In contrast, what you see of our politicians seems downright clumsy.
The resolution to change that can currently be viewed on Robert Habeck’s Instagram account. Ironically, the Economics Minister, who at the beginning of 2019 had said goodbye to Twitter and Facebook with some ado because he didn’t think it was the right way to hold debates, is in top form here as an explainer on his own behalf. A week ago he sat down in front of a gray background in a simple blue shirt with no jacket or tie and explained with unpretentious social studies teacherlikeness what the problem with the energy supply was.
“I wanted to use this format to give a bit more background information,” he introduces, followed by an eight-minute, easy-to-understand explanatory video about oil, gas, coal, where they come from, what the state of the art is, what’s different what can be replaced with what and what not. How the supply chains work, that the infrastructure is partly historical and set up very differently in the west than in the east. And that the ultimate goal is to become independent of fossil fuels, of course, that’s also expected. 150,000 users have already watched the video, and every tenth left a “Like” heart.
A few days later it continues, Habeck reports from Qatar and just recently from Saudi Arabia. He speaks of sensitive issues such as labor and human rights and also formulates doubts. None of these topics are particularly accessible. LPG, hydrogen, ammonia, why do we need all of this and why is it so complicated? But Habeck explains at eye level and pleasantly without phrases, and if you believe the comments under the videos, that goes down well. You are taken to the hot Corniche in Qatar’s capital with the glittering skyscrapers in the background. “I’m here in Doha on the second day of a trip that’s kind of totally weird,” says Habeck with an immediacy that’s usually associated with influencers. Or even from Ukrainian government members. This directness creates a transparency beyond press events and their ready-made language, beyond the confrontational talk shows, which gives you the reassuring feeling of being taken seriously. Both reassurance and being taken seriously are very welcome at the moment.