Today on ARD: Olli Dittrich in "I was Angela Merkel" – How Sandro Zahlemann intervenes in world events

As Sandro Zahlemann on ARD, Olli Dittrich knows who really governed us in the year that is coming to an end. The TV review.

We know these pictures, often broadcast in the “Tagesschau” or in the “heute journal”: Angela Merkel on the government bench, looking at her cell phone with concentration. And only the senders or recipients of the SMS know what they are reading or writing. We thought.

But we also know this high-profile professional, a top figure in German journalism (no, I’m not talking about Robin Alexander, the factotum of ZDF presenter Markus Lanz), who has repeatedly caused a stir with his stories, such as that of the Arrival of the King of Bhutan at Leipzig Central Station: Sandro Zahlemann. We thought he was retired after his mishap with the report about the king (as is well known, he had expected him at his home station in Jesewitz and therefore missed him).

“I was Angela Merkel” on ARD: Olli Dittrich as Sandro Zahlemann

But Sandro Zahlemann would not be Sandro Zahlemann if he let his failures throw him off course. Tirelessly on the trail of new sensations, he has now been washed into the limelight again with the help of an adventurous coincidence. When he bought a new smartphone, he was given a number that was already taken – Angela Merkel’s number.

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As soon as the first shock at the discovery had subsided, the most outstanding quality of a true journalist won out: curiosity. From then on, Sandro devoted himself not only to studying the Chancellor’s short messages, no, he began to reply to the senders in Merkel’s place. In a word: The Jesewitz reporter Zahlemann intervened in world affairs, corresponded with the greats of politics, sport and church – initially with due caution. When a message from the Pope to Merkel appeared on the screen, he was suspicious, but the second SMS from Francis, written in Latin, convinced Zahlemann of its authenticity: “A charlatan cannot speak Latin.”

Sandro Zahlemann and Angela Merkel’s cell phone: Olli Dittrich on ARD

Once inflamed by the feeling that he was turning the big wheel of politics, the journalist became bolder. So he made sure that Armin Laschet was candidate for chancellor of the CDU, because his antipode Markus Söder had once taken a girl from the young Sandro. But the success blinded him. When he sent the WDR director a Merkel SMS in which the Chancellor offered an interview on the condition that Sandro Zahlemann conduct it, the fraud was exposed. This “identity theft” put the reporter, who had been innocent until then, behind bars. At least he reappeared in the media, albeit not entirely voluntarily, and after serving his imprisonment was interviewed by colleagues to tell his story.

“I was Angela Merkel: The Zahlemann Protocol” (ARD): Olli Dittrich shows his championship

With which Olli Dittrich can again show his mastery as a precise observer in his new parody of the media circus. The mask and language of his character, the interviews with the prominent witnesses (Caren Miosga, Tom Buhrow), the fade-ins that pretend authenticity, or even jokes like the word “ddr” on Zahlemann’s jacket: they reveal the enthusiasm with which the Hamburg comedian works on the parody . Unsuspecting people might mistake this work for a real documentary.

And Robin Alexander is also allowed to participate. Because Sandro Zahlemann hopes his colleague will find a job in the editorial team of Welt am Sonntag. But he only gets one subscription. This is probably called a tightening of penalties. (Daland Sailors)

List of rubric lists: © Daniel Wolcke / beckground tv / WDR