You had to live around Germany in the 1990s to notice this odd era.
As the Kohl era was coming to an end....there were efforts by various German newspapers, drew comparisons between Gerhard Schröder and Bill Clinton during Schröder's 1998 campaign and early chancellorship.
Selling point? Ways that highlighted shared charismatic and centrist qualities to portray Schröder favorably as a modern, dynamic leader. This can be interpreted as "pumping him up" by associating him with Clinton's successful image as a media-savvy, reform-oriented politician who had navigated economic challenges and maintained popularity.
Curiously....some at the time were critical of Schroder for being "light on substance."
Public TV went the same route.
At some point....even the LA Times noted....German media outlets like Der Spiegel and Der Tagesspiegel were drafting up stories that aligned Schröder to Clinton's public persona. Quotes like "media showman," an "incurable flirt," and exhibiting "soft-soap malleability" came up.
Some even started to suggest Schröder as the "Bill Clinton of Germany" during his election win.
Schröder having a pre-election meeting with Clinton in 1998? Yeah....this was supposed to elevate the new Chancellor.
It is interesting to note...by 2005...Schröder's agenda had peaked out and the public demanded change.
By 2009....German print/news media had attached itself to Barak Obama, and attempted a replacement strategy to Bill Clinton.
As 2016 rolled around....German media followed the election closely and hyped Hillary Clinton through positive portrayals, such as unanimously declaring her the winner of debates against Trump and emphasizing her competence.
Both in print and news outlets....they expressed strong anti-Trump sentiment, viewing him as a "disaster" for the world, while promoting Clinton as the preferred choice, with commentary stating she'd win "hands down" if Germans voted, and coverage of her campaign as a wall against populism.
Well....Hillary Clinton lost, and the general public couldn't handle it. Four years of anti-Trumpness followed. The Biden-era? There was some brief period of happiness....then the war business came up....the economy went sluggish, and the threat of AfD carving into the political landscape came up.
To be rather honest, there was no pump-up via Joe Biden. Even for 2024...it's hard to see Kamala Harris's replacement situation helping German print-media, news-media, or social-media sell a German 'Clinton-like' character.
What's left today? You can essentially make the statement, economically...Germany is still in a recovery stage after Covid, The path to cheap Russian natural gas and oil? Ended. The 20-odd years of marginal defense spending? Now pushing the country to correct the problem, but essentially lacking the money. Then one can bring up the weakest point ever for both the CDU-CSU and SPD parties. Oddly, more than half the nation has some worry building up over Putin, and possible invasion.
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