King Charles III is in Germany and gives amusing speeches, talks about the connecting power of humor. Which raises the question: Why has German politics actually become so unfunny?
A good speech starts with a joke, the British know that better than anyone, so it’s not terribly surprising that King Charles III. accommodated one or the other royal, delicate punchline during his appearances in Germany. But he also talked about humor and its unifying meaning: “The German comedy ambassador Henning Wehn brought German peculiarities closer to us in Great Britain, just like Monty Python brought ours here. As with all old friends, the warmth of our relationship allows in some moments a little smile at the expense of the other.”
Has anyone in the Bundestag ever talked about comedians before? In general, where and why did German politics actually lose its sense of humor? The Germans love the separation of seriousness and entertainment, but there used to be more jokes in federal politics.
Norbert Lammert is missing
Gone are the days when the then President of the Bundestag, Norbert Lammert of the CDU, and Gregor Gysi of the left, taunted each other with small tips across the deep political ditch. Lammert, dubbed an “ironic” by Wolf Biermann, even got a whole collection when he left office his best sayings donated.
And the Bonn Republic first! Perhaps to reassure the public that Germany is no longer a creepy neighbor, people laughed and teased as if the Bundestag were the main office for derbling: the mockumentary “The Great Palaver” comes to a remarkable two hours of material.
Today we live in the silly Republic of Germany. There is still laughter, for example when the serious ladies and gentlemen in the Bundestag reveal that they are overwhelmed on the open stage. In his speech, for example, the Chancellor recently forgot to greet the President of the Bundestag. Bärbel Bas then asked for it politely but firmly. It was a cheerful, but above all beautiful moment: A forgotten formality, the most powerful man in Germany receives a gentle admonition from the woman who, according to protocol, holds the second highest office in the state. Everything civilized, harmless and relaxed. But really funny?
Humor is a political weapon
Henning Wehn, Monty Python, Dinner for One: King Charles III. also talks about humor in the Bundestag.
(Photo: IMAGO/photothek)
Humor is in itself a communicative act. Laughing together can even be found in the animal kingdom, whoever laughs together forms a community, at least for a short moment – the joke bridges the discrepancies of life, it relaxes. But laughter is not only a reflex, it is also a political weapon. Laughter in the Bundestag, for example, is ritualized and part of the political staging: the people’s representatives also laugh because they know that the stenographic service immediately meticulously notes “laughter throughout the house” or “laughter among the SPD MPs”. This goes as far as induced cheerfulness, like the “Zeitschrift für Parlamentfragen” executed once – So if you mock others, like the famous Herbert Wehner, when he called Jürgen Wohlrabe a “bad crow”.
Now politics is not for entertainment, this is where tough questions of power are decided. Recent world history shows in an amazing way how effective humor is as an instrument of power. He shaped various brilliant political careers: Former US President Barack Obama was able to make people laugh like hardly anyone else, as perhaps only Ronald Reagan before him. Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson even made himself a physical clown.
There is solid evidence of the connection between popularity and humor, thanks largely to social media. researchers have about examined in a study, how India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi promoted his change of image with funny tweets. Taiwan fought disinformation in the corona pandemic with jokes so that corrections went viral like conspiracy theories. It is one “Humour over Rumor” strategy.
Jokes in War and Pandemic
Even the war against Ukraine shows the power of humor. The Ukrainian military is constantly firing organized memes, punchlines and satirical videos into the public eye, thereby keeping the morale of its own military stable. It’s black humor, which the Israeli army also uses used in social media.
Is there a connection between Ukrainian and Israeli humor? I just happened to be able to ask Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor that very thing. He is famous in diplomatic circles for his performances, whether as Participants in the Ice Bucket Challengeat a bitingly sarcastic “Oscar Awards” to Iran and other countries in the UN General Assembly or when he ends a speech with a Shakira song, singing very easily.
When I asked if he saw a cultural connection between the jokes of Ukraine and Israel, Prosor referred to Jewish humor, but especially to the biography of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was a professional comedian in a previous life.
Do we have humorous politicians?
Too bad: We probably don’t have a Selenskyj at the moment. Which active politician in Germany still has a joke? I conjured up all my knowledge of scientific methodology – and polled Twitter.
The FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann was mentioned particularly often. She applied for this nomination primarily through her carnival speech about Friedrich Merz. Incidentally, the most laughs in the German Bundestag in 2019 came from one who generally doesn’t mince his words: The The funniest MP is Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki, also FDP. But then there was no king in the house.
The CDU no longer has any staff to show for this, in the CSU Markus Söder can (have) disguised himself passably. Cem Özdemir of the Greens, now Federal Minister of Agriculture, can counter well on Twitter, anyway. The SPD? Has Kevin Kühnert and Karl Lauterbach: He is really a stand up comedian.
So bottom line, a sad group, in a historical and global context. We must have gotten pretty pinched.
Except for tomorrow, of course: April 1st is official joke time.