Germany chain
A necklace that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel wore on September 1, 2013 in the TV duel on the occasion of the 2013 federal election became known as the Deutschlandkette (also Schlandkette ) . Even days later, the chain was still a media topic and was picked up by Michelle Müntefering during the election campaign , for example .
background
Merkel wore the necklace made of black, gold-colored, red and colorless elements around her neck in such a way that three elements could be seen in the colors of the German national flag . This was partly interpreted as a sign of their patriotism . However, the order of the colors was black-gold-red, from left to right as seen by Merkel. This corresponds to the color arrangement on the national flag of Belgium , which is why the necklace was also known as the "Belgium chain". Another popular name was "Schlandkette", based on the colloquial short form " Schland " for Germany, which has become popular since the 2006 World Cup .
The TV duel was broadcast live by the five television stations Das Erste , ZDF , RTL , ProSieben and Phoenix and was seen by 17.64 million viewers. The event was rated as rather boring in media reports and surveys. In the media, seemingly trivial matters such as Merkel's necklace and the appearance of the moderator Stefan Raab, who was little experienced in political broadcasts, were treated. In allusion to the reporting, Raab himself wore a copy of Merkel's necklace in his TV-Total broadcast of September 2, 2013. The viewers also reacted in large numbers to Merkel's necklace on social networks, for example the Twitter account @schlandkette had more than 6300 readers the day after.
Based on a now famous quote from Merkel's opponent Peer Steinbrück ("Had, had, bicycle chain"), German and foreign media headlined in their reporting based on Twitter about the TV duel "would have, have, Germany chain".
Designer and material
The necklace was designed by the jewelry designers Ulrike and Hans-Peter Weyrich from Idar-Oberstein . According to their information, it should have cost a medium three-digit amount . The chain consists of foam coral , onyx , rock crystal and a gold-plated , silver hollow shape.
In the first week after the appearance, numerous jewelers were already offering copies of the chain under the name "Deutschlandkette" and "Schlandkette" as mass-produced items, as the Germany chain does not enjoy copyright protection. Weyrich himself claims to have made another 20 copies of this chain due to the high demand. The buyers are unknown.
National impact and international reporting
The Germany chain and the discussion about it were criticized as a symbol for the staging of politics instead of the struggle for content:
“... it doesn't matter 'which jewelry you wear'. It is an allusion to the 'Germany chain' that Angela Merkel wore in the TV duel and which occupied numerous viewers and media more than political content. "
"Merkel's 'Schlandkette' is a symbol for a staging of politics that submits to the rules of the media, avoids controversy and has little in common with constitutional reality."
Even after the reports directly after the TV duel, the “Germany chain” remained an issue. For example, the tabloid Bild organized a reader campaign in which ten identical necklaces from the same jeweler could be won. International media also took up the topic, for example in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, England, Poland, Ireland, Canada, India and Saudi Arabia.
The chain continued to play a role in post-election reports, as did the "middle finger" of its then challenger Peer Steinbrück.
interpretation
Communication experts assume that Merkel chose the chain for the TV duel very deliberately. With the German colors she shows a patriotic and conservative attitude. However, since the color arrangement does not correspond to the flag, this also signals creativity.
Use of chains
The Chancellor had already worn this necklace several times before, on the day she was sworn in as Chancellor on October 28, 2009 and at the commemoration ceremony for the victims of right-wing extremist violence in February 2012.
Angela Merkel wore the Germany chain again on July 13, 2014 at a meeting with Vladimir Putin before the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina in Rio de Janeiro . She also wore the necklace during and after the game in which Germany became world champions. The daily newspaper (Taz) reported ironically that the magic of the German chain Merkel was able to heal Bastian Schweinsteiger's wound under his right eye with a kiss.
More high-profile chains
The day after the 2013 federal election , Merkel wore a black and green necklace. In view of the upcoming coalition negotiations, many press representatives interpreted this as a tendency towards a desired black-green coalition .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The Merkel chain that all of Germany is talking about , Die Welt, September 2, 2013
- ↑ "Had, had, Germany chain" . ( Memento from September 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: tagesschau.de , September 2, 2013.
- ↑ A lot of attention for Merkel's "Deutschlandkette" . In: welt.de , September 2, 2013.
- ↑ Germany chain : Creators overrun by hype . Rhein-Zeitung, September 3, 2013.
- ↑ Schröder attacks plans for a military strike in Syria , section Etching against Merkel's "Germany Chain" . In: welt.de , September 6, 2013
- ↑ Merkel wears Germany chain: How trendy is patriotism? . In: Focus . 2. September 2013
- ^ Winner: Stefan Raab and the Schlandkette . In: Frankfurter Rundschau . 2. September 2013.
- ↑ a b Belgium chain instead of exchange of blows , article in the Prussian Gazette of September 2, 2013
- ↑ a b Schlandkette: Merkel's chain scores in the TV duel against Steinbrück , article in Spiegel Online from September 2, 2013.
- ↑ Parties analyze a duel according to their taste . In: The world . 2. September 2013.
- ↑ Merkel against Steinbrück - Winner: Stefan Raab and the Schlandkette , article in the Frankfurter Rundschau from September 2, 20913
- ↑ Had, had, Deutschlandkette - TV duel on Twitter , online article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung from September 2, 2013
- ↑ a b c The winner is: #schlandkette , article on the online portal of the Basler Zeitung from September 2, 2013
- ↑ a b c TV duel: "Had, would have, Germany chain" - Germany chooses , article on derStandard.at of September 2, 2013
- ↑ Angela Merkel - The secret of her "Schlandkette" is out! , Article of the Bunte from September 2, 2013
- ↑ Merkel's rocket career #schlandkette , article on Bild.de of September 2, 2013
- ↑ a b He created Merkel's "Schlandkette": jewelry designer from Idar-Oberstein does not plan mass production , article in the Rhein-Zeitung of September 2, 2013
- ↑ SZ from August 19, 2020
- ^ Etching against Merkel's "Germany Chain" , Die Welt , September 6, 2013
- ↑ Germany chain instead of duel pistol , Publikative.org , September 3, 2013
- ↑ These are the ten winners of the BILD-AktionTolle "Schlandketten"! Our readers are so creative , article from September 5, 2013
- ^ Secret star of the TV duel: Angela Merkels @schlandkette , contribution by Swiss television SRF from September 2, 2013
- ↑ a b A lot of attention for Merkel's “Germany Chain” ( memento from October 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), article on Südtirol online from September 2, 2013
- ↑ Le collier de Merkel fait glousser l'Allemagne Article in the Le Figaro newspaper from September 3, 2013
- ↑ German election 2013: Angela Merkel's jewel in the frown, The only item to sparkle during Germany's sole TV election debate - 'Das TV Duell' - was a necklace contribution in The Guardian
- ↑ Podatki? Syria? Nie, niemieckich internautów rozgrzał ... naszyjnik Angeli Merkel , article by NaTemat, accessed on September 6, 2013
- ↑ Angela Merkel's 'Germany Necklace' clear winner of debate on Twitter , contribution from the Irish Independent
- ↑ https://nationalpost.com/opinion/merkels-necklace-voted-clear-winner-of-the-german-candidates-debate
- ↑ Angela Merkel's flag necklace gets own Twitter account contribution from the TV station NDTV
- ↑ Merkel's 'Germany Necklace' clear winner of Twitter debate , message from Arab News from September 3, 2013
- ^ The displaced catastrophe in the Schwäbische Zeitung , September 28, 2013
- ↑ https://www.mdr.de/themen/nsu/zwickauer-trio370_zc-d0569c6d_zs-ef5d5840.html
- ↑ With "Germany chain": Merkel meets with Putin before the World Cup final rp-online.de
- ↑ Germany chain and Kabinenselfie , online article, Die Welt , July 14, 2014
- ↑ The Truth: Over and Over , the daily newspaper , July 15, 2014
- ↑ taz.de : Pros and Cons black-green - is the time ripe?