Typically, Chancellor Merkel does press conferences or public Q and A program....only with journalists. Yesterday, in Chemnitz....she went forward with a two-hour Q and A session, with the general public. This occurred in the middle of a work day, and I would question the folks who ended up within the structure. NTV (German commercial news) covered the event and spoke about the questions.
For those not familiar with recent events in Chemnitz (a city in the eastern region of Germany).....there was a German who was attacked by a non-German, and it's become a rough period for the political folks in the region to answer questions.
The deal led off with the question....do you know why people have taken offense to you? This led to a professor-like statement that she can understand this.
This led onto a question if the government itself needs a new communication strategy. This question was worded in some way to suggest that people (some people)....aren't that bright and "the ability of people to receive news" is in question.
I stopped for a while and thought about that statement. It's directed at working-class people (not intellectuals). But actually, after you start thinking about it....you might as well include intellectuals in the group of people having problems in receiving news as well. Dumbing down all news? Well....why not?
This suggestion led the guy asking the dumb-down piece....to suggest that the Chancellor needs to have short films produced. You know....the type where difficult-to-understand matters are done in bite-size form. You know....like those films produced in the 1930s. Oh.....well....maybe that's not a good example.
The Chancellor then wanted folks to know that her guy (Bundestag spokesman Steffen Seibert) already does daily 'tweets', YouTube-type videos, and she does a regular podcast (I can't say it's weekly but you see one every once in a while).
So the questions proceed on. At some point, a German lady asked about the Chancellor needing to point out the good achievements of the government.....that enough kind and glorious words aren't being sprinkled in the public. The Chancellor more or less grinned and suggested that she didn't want to go overboard bragging on all the good stuff.
Toward the end of this two-hour episode.....some guy finally asked....when are you retiring? The Chancellor is kinda direct and just says she's in for the whole four years.
One can make three observations about this public session:
1. If you feel negative about the Merkel vision (to include immigration and migration), then the session did little to persuade you to be more open. If you were super-positive about Merkel (to include immigration and migration), then the session did little to improve your super-positive feeling over the government.
2. Yes, there is a intellectual versus non-intellectual 'battle' brewing in Germany. There are truly people walking around that feel if you were 'just as smart' as them....you'd understand the whole situation. In some ways....it's opened up this big divide among the public and creating a disconnect. The sad factor in this piece of the puzzle is that the intellectuals are in the minority (maybe one out of seven at best).
3. When you look across the whole landscape in Germany....most will say that there really needs to be some change coming to the political make-up of the government....that having a fresh new Chancellor would help.
More of these Q and A episodes? If you were lucky.....you might see Merkel do one of these a year. Course that suggestion to do more of those short film 'explanations' might be a catchy thing that the public TV folks could do.
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