Election campaign in the 21st century. Three men sit in front of screens with attached ring lights, play video games, squeal with pleasure or shout “shit”. This is broadcast on the streaming platform TwitchTV, on which you can watch people live while they try to play and talk about it at the same time. On the channel “Junge Union Gaming” the chairman of the JU, Tilman Kuban, and the CDU politician Philip Amthor invited to the “Multiplayer Night” on Wednesday evening. But they don't just want to compete with the “gaming scene” when playing, “they want to talk about politics with the“ community ”without being embellished and without political spokespersons. It's like trying to fly through a thunderstorm in a flight simulator and discussing the problems of the German pension system with a school class in the seventh hour - in Finnish.

And who do you want to reach? Will potential voters one day remember this evening? Should the undecided be convinced with resolute topics? After all, based on the example of many Let's Play charity livestreams, it is collected for the victims of the flood disaster. At 7 p.m. sharp, however, little happened on the “Junge Union Gaming” channel. If there is a delay, a transmission including a countdown begins, the start time is changed to 7.30 p.m. Sympathizers, opponents and ricochets are already active in the chat: "Heil Amthor", frog emojis, scene speech and the question of whether Rezo has been invited. The atmosphere, like in 1987, when kindergarten teacher Gabi had again poured too much magic tea. Shortly before half past six, Amthor alone in the studio: “Tilman is on the home stretch”. Spectators: around 4000.If you watch the chat too long, you will soon find pictures of burning computers. 7:37 p.m .: "Starting Soon". Chat message: "Stream starts just in time for coal exit."

Almost like a federal election campaign

Then the screen fills with what is called life in politics: Amthor looks almost neglected in a polo shirt - that's how you want it to be communicated: otherwise he always wears a Sunday suit.

We know.

The influencer Vince moderates and should always throw in questions.

That will cause problems for the show and the young politicians.

First of all, the game is played.

And that is "Fall Guys": colorful, faceless men jump, pounce and plop through obstacle courses and whoever is in danger of losing tries at least to bring the other players down.

Almost like a federal election campaign.

Loose question about Amthor's goals.

Answer, roughly: internal security, golden sidewalks for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and “sensible politics”, “not just for city dwellers”.

Chat message: "I prefer RTL."

Further topics: lockdown hairstyles, factory farming, baerbock, cannabis legalization (“will come soon”), avocado girls, citizen dialogue via Instagram or “Klapphaus”, then memes in which Amthor or Kuban appear. Amthor: "So whoever made this meme will receive praise of honor from me." (Probably himself). Amthor “does not want to avoid serious issues”. Regarding the photo with the man who demands freedom for the imprisoned Holocaust denier Ursula Haverbeck on his T-shirt, he says that he “didn't really look at the T-shirt”. It becomes critical when Vince Kuban asks about the railway's financing model. Kuban wants to answer that "the stream has to be restarted". Escape in Kalauer: "The modem is overheated." Chat: "First book the data volume." Three-minute test image. Then microphone failure, channel error, chaos: "No, no,no. ”Kuban mumbles:“ New territory ”. The rail question - forget it. In the end, Amthor and Kuban topped up the 1805 euros they had collected to around 2000. Election campaign in the 21st century.