Markus Lanz talks to his guests about Corona on ZDF. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach is once again a warner.
Hamburg – “After the summer wave is before the autumn wave” could be the current motto of Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD). The former regular guest of Markus Lanz was once again a guest on the ZDF talk show and successfully tried to live up to his reputation as a warner.
Malicious gossips claim that he got his job as Federal Minister of Health through his appearances on countless German talk shows. That may be a bit exaggerated, but it felt like he was a weekly guest with Anne Will, Frank Plasberg or Markus Lanz before the last federal election – at least. That has changed a bit since he took office, but today Karl Lauterbach had time again after a long break to appear with Markus Lanz on ZDF. A few weeks ago he survived a corona infection himself and is now warning of the coming winter. But who wants to hear about mask regulations and other measures when even the chancellor and his deputy are sitting in the government plane without a mask?
Markus Lanz (ZDF): Irritation because of continued warnings from Lauterbach
Even Markus Lanz was irritated by Lauterbach’s continued admonitions and warnings and wondered where the warning about a “children’s variant” that Lauterbach painted on the wall a few days ago was supposed to lead. Helene Bubrowski, lawyer and political expert at the FAZ, also accused the Federal Minister of Health of questionable communication, spoke of constant comments that warn of something that will only happen in the most unlikely case.
The journalist at Markus Lanz on ZDF called this communication scaremongering, an accusation that Lauterbach countered with increasing thin-skinnedness. Again and again Lauterbach tried to emphasize that he only cares about warning people about the possible consequences of Covid. But hasn’t his new role changed the weight of his words in a way that would necessitate more careful communication?
The guests at Markus Lanz (ZDF) – broadcast from September 1st, 2022
| Karl Lauterbach | Federal Minister of Health (SPD) |
| Mario Czaja | CDU General Secretary |
| Helen Bubrowski | Journalist (FAZ) |
“They overwhelm them with information and warnings,” said the new CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja on Markus Lanz on ZDF. Lanz called it “education through fear” and pointed out that various new vaccines would soon be available. But Lauterbach insisted on his position as a warner, who prefers to call for caution too much and too often than too rarely. “It’s bad for me that we’re getting used to the fact that over 100 people die from Covid every day,” said Lauterbach, an ethical attitude that can hardly be contradicted.
Markus Lanz on ZDF: Lauterbach wants to be the warning conscience
He had not chosen Friedrich Merz, but now Merz Mario Czaja has made him CDU general secretary. Member of Parliament in Berlin Marzahn-Hellersdorf is Czaja and is considered a “social conscience”, as Markus Lanz remarked somewhat smugly in his ZDF program. Given the large Russian population in his constituency, Czaja aggressively tries to communicate with all residents, a closeness that Markus Lanz wanted to use to tie him up. In the “Gardens of the World”, a garden complex that contains a Zen garden or a garden from Bali, a Russian garden was also to be created. A project that was planned long before Russia invaded Ukraine, but has long been shelved. It was not entirely clear who had financed this project, but Lanz Czaja nevertheless insinuated that Russia had been taken in by it. A blanket over the comb scissors all contacts with Russia, which Czaja countered that around three million people in Germany have Russian roots.
Lanz also provoked violent attacks with regard to Mario Czaja’s job in the healthcare sector, which he held between his tenure in the Berlin House of Representatives and his election to the Bundestag. Lanz wanted to accuse Czaja of unfair lobbying and harped on about whether the three-month break that Czaja took between leaving the House of Representatives and starting work in the private sector was sufficient. The Federal Minister of Health was also skeptical about Czaja’s lobbying work, but caused amusement at the end of the round when he advised Czaja to work on his communication, a comment that was apparently not meant to be ironic. (Michael Meyns)
