In the late 1970s and 1980s, the poster hung in every post office. Black and white faces with sparse captions. RAF terrorists wanted by Germany. Gudrun Ensslin, Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof … “Alarm for Stuttgart: Three bombs go off” was the headline in the “Bild” at the time.
Around 40 years later, the TV comedian and policeman’s son Jan Böhmermann turned this historical look into a veritable “Uffreger”, as they say in Berlin. In his ZDF satire show on Friday (November 25), he declared the FDP to be the new RAF. The iconic wanted poster from the 1970s, which the Böhmermann editorial team redesigned for the show, caused alarm, especially on social media. Böhmermann’s hashtag #rafdp has been circulating ever since.
Because instead of macho man Baader, FDP poster boy and Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner adorned the “new RAF poster”. The former editor-in-chief of “Spiegel” and current “WeltN24” publisher Stefan Aust was also shown in a black and white seventies look, as was “Welt” publisher Ulf Poschardt, among others.
A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. The legal process is excluded.
Everything else tonight from 20 pm in the @zdfmagazin #rafdp pic.twitter.com/ZQNkZ7YSYa
— Jan Böhmermann ? @[email protected] (@janboehm) November 25, 2022
The whole thing was carefully orchestrated by the Böhmermann team. As early as Friday afternoon, the ZDF rogue tweeted his coup with the words: “A reward of 100,000 DM is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the wanted person.”
“Satirical exaggeration” was about Spiegel Online. In line with this motto program, clip sequences are shown in which AfD politician Beatrix von Storch describes climate activists as “green RAF”. Even the notoriously agitated Rainer Wendt, in his usual alarmist role as chairman of the German police union, speaks in the style of the time of “chaotic” and “extremists”.
Böhmermann followed up with his typical “joker” expression: The climate RAF would only be “a Pritt pen away from shooting the employer president”. An allusion to the kidnapping and murder of Hanns-Martin Schleyer, who in his youth was an SS leader in occupied Prague. Böhmermann shook with a start at German trauma.
Whether that is “funny” or “insidious” or perceived – everyone should be able to decide for themselves. The entire themed show was programmed for low blow jokes. A completely over the top political silly thing. According to Böhmermann, “modern left-wing extremists” strive to spread their political messages on YouTube, as Christian Lindner said on his YouTube channel. There he also “extends” his 911 weakness or celebrates his glamor wedding on the “punk island of Sylt”. And, as Böhmermann emphasizes, Andreas Baader also drove a Porsche. Oho.
This is evil, heartless and mean – and full on the Twelve. Above all, totally silly. You don’t have to take the public-law court jester seriously, who is equipped with a rich contract. Or, to paraphrase Manfred Mann’s Earthband: “HaHa, said the Clown!”