The statements made by the Palestinian President and notorious Holocaust relativizer Abbas came as little surprise.

What was new was the way they were presented on German soil and in the presence of the Federal Chancellor - in response to a question about the commemoration of the Palestinian terrorist attack on Israelis at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

The answer says more than enough about the Palestinian Authority's stance on genocide and terror.

After all, in Germany the public trivialization of the Holocaust, which is likely to disturb public peace, is punishable as incitement to hatred.

There is no doubt about Scholz' attitude

However, the performance in Berlin also shows once again that the German view of the Holocaust and its uniqueness is not shared all over the world.

There are a variety of reasons for this, ranging from hatred of Jews to a broad form of freedom of expression.

Germany, on the other hand, has good reasons for its position, which then also needs to be defended, especially if one ascribes an almost identity-creating importance to it.

The difficult statecraft consists in making one's own position clear without appearing pedantic to others.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the other hand, did nothing at first - he did not answer Abbas directly.

Now there is no doubt about his attitude, which he also made clear a little later.

But regardless of the extent to which this is a communicative error: It is not the first time that Scholz has stood there like a drowned poodle instead of showing his colors.

For example, when the American President gave the impression in a joint press conference that he himself – and not the German Chancellor – was making the decision about a pipeline on German soil, Scholz should have added that in a friendly manner.

Such events are not just photo sessions.

In coalition agreements, which Scholz otherwise likes to refer to, there is not an answer to everything.

And the chancellor cannot always refer to gaps in memory, as in the Cum-ex case.

He has to show the flag.