Cold power

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Kalte Macht is a political thriller by Jan Faber from 2013. The location is the Federal Chancellery during the Chancellor's second legislative period . The main character is the young State Secretary Natascha Eusterbeck, who uncovered a plot of old ropes.

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Natascha Eusterbeck is a young and ambitious politician who is appointed Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery. Once there, the Chancellor opens her two special assignments. Officially, it should work out proposals for optimizing the agency. Unofficially, and that is her actual mission, she is supposed to examine the secret power structures and backroom associations of the apparatus for the Chancellor.

Natascha quickly realizes that she has been thrown into a shark tank. Everyday work can hardly be managed without ephedrine . She was met with resentment and rejection, and she received undisguised threats from Hans Steiner, the head of the Chancellery. In the course of her research, she came across a network of politics and the secret service that was closely linked to the Transatlantic Alliance and to Johann Feldmann, the head of the National Bank. The evidence of a plot is growing: Was former Chancellor Walter Brass blackmailed to force his resignation? Did the Chancellor use this knowledge to come to power?

For Natascha, the assignment becomes a race against her unscrupulous adversaries. Before the climax of the action, she realizes that she too was just a puppet in the hands of the Chancellor.

Figures and associations

The characters in the novel are fictional, but allow easy associations with real German politics. The following information is given in the book:

“Due to the nature of things, however, similarities to living or deceased people could not always be avoided. They are not intended, but are encompassed by the constitutionally protected freedom of art. "

Protagonists

  • Natascha Eusterbeck : protagonist of the novel. Young, ambitious and idealistic politician.
  • Henrik Eusterbeck : Deuteragonist . Natascha's husband. As a freelance IT specialist, he helps his wife with research and prepares several dossiers.

More figures

  • Chancellor : Unnamed Chancellor of the Federal Republic.
  • Hans Steiner : Minister of the Chancellery. Powerful and arrogant, was previously active in Lower Saxony state politics. Tried several times to intimidate Natascha.
  • David Berg : Government spokesman . Handsome and charming. Formerly a journalist at Westdeutsche Allgemeine . He lets Natascha in on some of the processes in the Chancellery.
  • Gerhard Jäger : Head of Security at the Chancellery. Ex-police officer with uses in the GSG 9 of the Federal Police , LKA Hessen, the Hessian constitution protection and the security service of the US embassy in Berlin.
  • Johann 'Jo' Feldmann : Head of the National Bank, successor to Albert Ritter.
  • Albert Ritter : Former head of the National Bank. Was killed in a bomb attack in 1989.
  • Lars von Wintersleben : Former assistant to Albert Ritter. Is considered Germany's best networked manager and the originator of several spectacular company takeovers. In Henrik's dossier on von Wintersleben, the following statements are quoted: “We don't work for others, but for ourselves.” - “Those who can't dance should stay away from the parquet.” - “Money doesn't belong in the hands of people who don't be able to handle it. "
  • Gero Mai : Former parliamentary group leader who resigned his mandate after a dispute. Lawyer for the law firm Linton Meyer Lafarge and president of the Transatlantic Alliance .
  • Walter Brass : Ex-Chancellor of the Federal Republic. His party plunges into a deep crisis after a tax affair. Formerly a confidante and sponsor of Albert Ritter, later his adversary.
  • Alexander Rau : Minister of Finance. Injured after an accident, wearing a prosthesis and walking on crutches.
  • Wolfhardt Lippold : father of Natascha. Formerly senior civil servant, among others in the department for economic relations in the Foreign Office. Has created files about what happened at the time. Gets knocked down and dies in hospital. His last words to Natascha are: "Transatlantic Alliance".
  • The pupil : anonymous e-mail sender who follows and threatens Natascha.

About the author

Jan Faber is the pseudonym of an unknown author. The publisher's announcement states about this:

“Over the past two decades, Jan Faber has worked in an advisory and strategic capacity for several high-ranking members of the government as well as for other important personalities from politics and business. He maintains contacts in all political camps and has published in various leading German media. "

reception

Reviews of the novel were mixed. Andreas Kurth from Krimi-Couch.de and Claudio Campagna from NDR Kultur praised the authenticity of the plot and atmosphere, but Campagna also criticized the lack of tension and unity.

“Kalte Macht is a really exciting novel that is well worth reading. The conspiracy theory laid out in it has already been read many times in another form, but is used here as the perfect basis for a novel. In my opinion, the plot and dialogues are designed to be quite realistic [sic!] , The protagonist and her surroundings appear refreshingly idealistic and naive until they are ground up in the mills of power. The book is set predominantly in the Chancellery on Willy-Brandt-Straße, and the moral - or immorality - in the power center of German politics is portrayed quite authentically. "

- Andreas Kurth : Krimi-Couch.de

“The author leaves storylines lying around for too long before picking them up again. And too much remains open in the end. Above all, Jan Faber succeeds in depicting the atmosphere of Berlin's overheated political business and in drawing a - probably very realistic - picture of loneliness, career addiction and constant maneuvering. "

- Claudio Campagna : NDR culture

expenditure

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jan Faber : Cold Power . Page & Turner, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-442-20421-2 , pp. 448 .
  2. ↑ Random House Press Book Info: Kalte Macht ( Memento of the original from September 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.randomhouse.de
  3. ↑ Review on Krimi-Couch.de , accessed on August 18, 2013
  4. ↑ Review on NDR Kultur , accessed on August 19, 2013