Zoom Image
Volker Wissing, Annalena Baerbock, Christian Lindner and Robert Habeck in September 2021
Photograph:
Volker Wissing / FDP / instagram / dpa; Getty Images
When you open the photo album from the autumn before last today, you are amazed at how beautiful everything seemed back then, standing in the euphoric light, the future in front of your eyes. You think you can feel the upswing. Maybe even a hint of: warmth? In any case, the four wrote in their digital friendship book: "In the search for a new government, we are exploring commonalities and bridges over what divides us. And even find some. Exciting times.«
At least they kept the latter, no one can complain about that. Commonalities were also certainly found. The infrastructure, however, turned out to be inadequate, perhaps Transport Minister Wissing has a share in it. The bridges between the Greens and the FDP are currently collapsing. It's about a heating law, it's very complicated. Habeck accuses Lindner of "breaking his word". Breaking a word, that somehow sounds like a product disappointment, because it should be modern, fresh, contemporary. "Breaking a word" evokes other associations: cabbage rolls, baggy suits, men's unions. The smell of sweat from a locker room after losing an indoor tournament mixes with childish disappointment: He gave me his Indian word of honor!
The past is warm, the present is cool
But that should be the new thing: trust, collaboration, a common goal in mind. Up there, that's where we're going, and we'll take you with us. This is one of the reasons why this photo was published. To show: We take your mission seriously, we are ready because it is you, and now all together. It is normal for a spirit of optimism to evaporate at some point. After all, you set off at some point. But when you run out of breath so quickly on the way (where, actually?), you have to ask yourself if you have chosen the right travel companions.
The great thing about the principle of the selfie is that in the act of taking pictures you only pretend to look at the later viewer, but actually look at yourself. In this respect, the picture was also a big misunderstanding: it was not us who were the future, but the four themselves. However, the future will eventually become the present, and we have now arrived in it. Unfortunately, the present has no filter and it is not warm either. It's cool, and in retrospect you wonder about your own hope. However, this often happens when you look at old holiday photos.