In the future, modern people might be better off going to the pub on a Sunday evening than letting themselves be showered by the fee-financed ARD. Actually, this knowledge has long been known among young and open-minded people.
The ARD ratings are supposedly still bomb on a Sunday evening, but we all know that only the remote controls in a few thousand German households are extrapolated to 83 million citizens. Independent experts must decide whether this is accurate. But one is not immediately critical of the system or quite radical if one shows a healthy distrust in such a practice. You can ask again.
No new politician blah blah: The Green Party leader Ricarda Lang sees the turnaround in traffic as a “mammoth task” and wants to punish drivers with the “regulatory law” if necessary.IMAGO / Jürgen Heinrich
In the crime scene, the real estate agent is always the killer
But let’s leave those complicated technical details behind. Because also in terms of content, one is at least indifferent to the Sunday evening in the ARD before and after the Tagesschau. You can’t say anything against the Tagesschau, after all you remember TV sets that were much too loud, liver sausage slices and fly swatters (horses!) at grandma’s in the Lüneburg Heath. Was it nice back then?
However, what happens after 8:15 p.m. is no longer relevant to modern people. The police call 110 (the former “GDR” format) is often a bit more substantial than the crime scene, but in the meantime the scripts of both crime formats are being softened by the broadcasting councils to the lowest common denominator that actually – just like in real life – always the bad real estate agent is the killer.
I believe that the US private broadcaster HBO (including “The White Lotus”) is now better than ARD and ZDF in fulfilling its public service program mandate of offering viewers “comprehensive and balanced information, education, culture and entertainment”. At least it’s more entertaining.
And now the TV review of Anne Will’s talk show. It’s 9:45 p.m. At least the ARD is on time. Which cannot be said of the other large semi-governmental organization in this country, Deutsche Bahn. Plus point for the ARD.
Christian Dürr, leader of the FDP parliamentary group, has gray hair and almost only talks about “e-fuels”.IMAGO / Jürgen Heinrich
Can we still drive with a clear conscience?
It starts. This time, the editors of the talk show host have chosen an important topic: “Car or train, speed or limit – is the traffic turnaround stuck in traffic jams?” Today it’s about the traffic turnaround and the question of how we want, should or should travel in a climate-friendly way in the future must. Depending on your political persuasion.
For this exchange of blows, Anne Will has invited guests who also make the headlines in the newspapers during the week and whose political message most viewers (at least that’s the case for the author due to his job) already know it by heart. This time the talk show will be attended by:
Ricarda Lang, federal chairwoman of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, who gave a long interview to our newspaper over the weekend. Christian Dürr, head of the FDP parliamentary group. Thorsten Frei, managing director of the Union parliamentary group and former mayor of the district town of Donaueschingen. Robin Alexander, deputy editor-in-chief of “Die Welt” and left-wing mobility activist and author Katja Diehl.
Thorsten Frei is the managing director of the Union parliamentary group and does not allow himself to be “patronized” when it comes to cars.IMAGO / Jürgen Heinrich
Only political palaver, no gain of knowledge
Before we get into the content of the report, the author suspects that the battle line in this debate will probably represent the important gender-political questions. Because here the two white-haired or at least gray-haired male politicians from the FDP and Union are up against two young, left-leaning women.
And the impartial journalist Robin Alexander, with his bald head, is not considered a left-wing friend of the Greens either. Did the ARD plan this identity-political preponderance of 3:2? Is it with Anne Will 3:3? Or did the moderator have to live with the guests who even get involved in something like this on Holy Sunday? In any case, the family man usually stays on the sofa on Sundays.
After Anne Will has already comprehensively explained the topic and the coalition dispute with the help of a few clips, in which the more relevant politicians such as Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) and his colleague from the Environment Ministry Steffi Lemke (Greens) have their say, those present are allowed to now in turn make their political statements.
Katja Diehl is a mobility expert, podcaster and advises the governments of the small states of Austria and Baden-Württemberg on the traffic turnaround.IMAGO / Jürgen Heinrich
Studies are quoted that nobody can verify
Christian Dürr (FDP) wants the motorway to be expanded (up to 10 lanes!) and says: “We have to be faster everywhere.” His coalition competitor Ricarda Lang (Greens) would, of course, also want to be faster everywhere, but not in car traffic , but only on the rails and with renewable energies: “New motorways only further heat up the climate crisis.” She cites “studies” that you can of course not read or check on the sofa and the talk show host accompanied with a casual ” vicious circle”.
Now it’s the CDU’s turn. The somewhat tricky task that Thorsten Frei has to master in this show is that as an opposition politician he always has to contradict the FDP, which is in government but actually wants the same thing as the Union when it comes to the traffic turnaround. That seems rehearsed. But now it’s time for his standard sentence: “Motorways are lifelines of the economy.” That may be pretty stupid, but it’s not wrong either. It’s okay.
Robin Alexander says something about the dispute in the coalition for the first time. A sentence that suggests that you shouldn’t have met at all: “This problem was clear, you should have known that when the coalition agreement was signed.” Very correct. In general, the world journalist is one of the most competent and disciplined talk show guests in the nation. He only says something when asked and then never really says stupid and redundant stuff.
Our man: Robin Alexander is a gifted political journalist and works for “Die Welt”.IMAGO / Jürgen Heinrich
Robin Alexander is the only competent guest
Unlike Dürr: “Less bureaucratic and faster is cheaper for the taxpayer.” That’s right, Christian. point made. Now, finally, a bit of ideology is added. Activist Katja Diehl claims that people in rural areas want alternatives to cars. “I have something against the car as we currently use it,” says Diehl. And being dependent on a car is generally “against human dignity”.
And further: “Germany is a structurally weak region when I’m dependent on a car, which costs several hundred euros a month.” One wonders, however, how dignified people in the 16th century walked from Küstrin to Berlin. Now a nice ideological debate unfolds. When asked by Anne Will, Ricarda Lang says that she actually has “nothing against cars”.
And Christian Dürr, as his party leader Christian Lindner dictated to him, proudly throws out the code word “e-fuels” for the first time, as if it were a world premiere. Ricarda Lang is getting too colorful now. If necessary, you have to tame traffic with the “regulatory law”. “It has a lot of paternalism,” complains Thorsten Frei from the CDU. Sure, he has to say that now. It goes on like this for a few minutes.
Anne Will is not about the viewer
Then Robin Alexander makes his competent appearance again and says the sentences that sum everything up and can be used as a general recipe for good political action. “The rapid construction of the LNG terminals after the Russian attack worked. Now we also have to consider whether it always works with other things,” he says, “instead we’re having a discussion: Your car is bad. We are back on an individual level and that is a total shame.” In Berlin, this is now being done again in the election campaign, it is “ideological theatre”. Amen.
All the politicians and the activist now look a little embarrassed, without really understanding that the journalist has just revealed their basic problem. Ricarda Lang is the youngest in the group and reacts the quickest: “That’s generally a mammoth task.” Phew!
It’s best to leave the television completely off
In the next few minutes, the arguments continued without any factual level. And that’s civilized. Because Anne Will is experienced and keeps track of the fact that everyone can deliver their well-rehearsed political messages in the sense of the program assignment. Unfortunately, the gain in knowledge is zero. At most, Robin Alexander has the viewer in mind, even though he works for Die Welt and not for ARD.
At 10:30 p.m., the first shouting begins. Christian Dürr, the FDP parliamentary group leader, is the first to raise his voice. It’s about the damn “e-fuels” again. The author has seen enough and stops the broadcast, pops into a beer and scrolls through Instagram for a bit more before going to bed. He will make his Sunday evening more pleasant again in the future. And certainly without Anne Will and ARD.
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