European elections: Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann: Bertolt breaks

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is not inclined to modesty. She has been a member of the Bundestag for the FDP since 2017 and has been chairwoman of the Defense Committee there since 2021. Some people remember the constant calls for weapons to be fired. She likes to talk about “enemy images.” And recently she drew attention again by saying that as a Catholic she was ashamed of the Pope, who does not want to accept the mass deaths in Ukraine.

As a woman of the offensive, she is now taking part in the European election campaign for the dentist lobby association FDP, which has become a party. Her portrait is emblazoned on the posters – with the text “Grandma Courage”. Did a free democrat read Brecht? Certainly not.

Bertolt Brecht’s epic drama Mother Courage and Her Children, written during (and against!) the Second World War, is a play against militarism and capitalism. The title heroine, Anna Fierling, known as Mother Courage, is not a popular figure: she tries to make money from the war as best she can. She loses everything, including the lives of her children. The motto of Courage speaks loudly: “War is nothing but business.”

What should such an election poster tell us? If there is war in Europe, then we have to make money from it too? Politically and economically? Apparently nothing is too embarrassing for some. Nor the displayed ignorance of literary classics.

European elections 2024

Illustration: Stephanie Schoell

In June, all member states of the European Union will vote on a new EU Parliament. It is becoming apparent that right-wing parties could gain influence. What is a left-wing response to this? And what about the EU’s climate policy? What developments are there with regard to social policy and what can be expected in the area of ​​European asylum and migration policy? The upcoming European elections will point the way. We summarize the developments on our topic page: dasnd.de/europawahl

The election campaign caused a stir on social media, where such stupidity can be enjoyed. Strack-Zimmerman defended himself clumsily on the communications platform “X,” formerly “Twitter,” saying there was no connection between the FDP slogan and the title of Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children.” So it’s all a coincidence. But you don’t look any less stupid if you claim that you no longer notice anything.

It’s a nice punchline that the hard-hitting journalist Jan Fleischhauer, author of the book “Unter Linken. From someone who accidentally became conservative,” who supports the politician on social media. On “X” he says about “Grandma Courage”: “It still works. Because hardly anyone knows Brecht anymore, let alone read anything by him. Which is a shame.”

Fleischhauer, the conservative literature lover, should know. On his “X” profile he has a nice quote: “If you rest, they’ll get you.” The “Focus” columnist added in brackets: “Thomas Mann, 1956.” That’s right, the quote is said to come from Thomas Mann, who died in 1955 and never said anything like that.

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