Nina Hagen and ‘Red Roses’ for Merkel

The musician will be Merkel’s farewell, as usual, outside the Ministry of Defense with a military band playing three of her favorite songs. Guess which one.

Tomorrow Thursday 02.12, at 19.40 German time, the second channel of the German public television ZDF starts the live broadcast. The German Armed Forces say goodbye to Angela Merkel with a traditional ceremony outside the Ministry of Defense. This is the highest honor bestowed on the German military by a representative of the political leadership. At the helm of the broadcast is the experienced journalist Bettina Sousten, who for years presents with seriousness and validity all the major political events of the capital, including all the electoral contests at the federal and local level. Sousten has done many interviews with Merkel, but this time her role is different. Valedictory.

Swan song at the chancellery

The farewell ceremony will begin with a speech by Merkel to the guests, ie all the ministers and presidents of the Republic, with whom she collaborated during the 16 years of her chancellery. Sousten will then analyze her political legacy with the help of political scientist Karl-Rudolf Corte. Lt. Col. Sven Homan will kick off the start of the big military event with an army band wrestling, with soldiers in special formations and lighted torches. A ritual that has its origins in the 16th century. Military fanfare has been done to other political officials in the past, and somewhere provokes ironic comments about whether it makes sense in all cases. The focus, however, this time is on an important detail. Tradition wants the politician, to whom this highest honor is given, to choose three songs of her choice. And here lies the big surprise. Because no one could have imagined who Merkel would choose, as we have known her for 16 years with her conservative presentation and regular host of the annual Wagner Festival in Bayreuth alongside her husband.

The first song is not a surprise. This is the choral church hymn “Exalt God, we praise you” by Jochen Rieger. It would be logical, one might say, for the daughter of an evangelical pastor, who managed to reach the highest positions within a male-dominated Christian party. But from the next option, the good things start. This is the sensual ballad of the Berliner Hildegard Kneff (1925-2002) entitled “For me I want it to rain red roses”. Kneff made a great career after World War II and was one of the few German actresses to conquer Hollywood. On TV shows, she talked about her relationship with Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and Marlene Dietrich. But she was not only an actress and singer, but also a writer. Her attacks such as, “German men lost a war, now they want to win it in the bedroom” have become known.

Memories of East Germany with the eccentric Nina Hagen

The lyrics of the song chosen by Merkel testify to moments of adolescent controversy, hesitation, but also mature self-affirmation. “At 16, I said to myself, I want to. I want to be big, to win. To be happy, to never lie. At 16, I said to myself, I want. I want everything or nothing. And later I said, I want to understand. “To see a lot, to experience, to restrain. And later I said again, I do not want to be alone, but to be free.” But the biggest surprise comes from the selection of the third song. It is entitled “You forgot the color film”, and it was a huge success in East Germany and beyond. It was performed by Nina Hagen in 1974 with the band Automobil. Hagen was born in the Friedrichshain district of then East Berlin, is considered the godmother of punk and influenced the German New Wave. In 1976 he fell out of favor with the East German communist regime and found an opportunity to flee to the West. Her fame went around the world, London, New York, the Netherlands. In 1986 he returned to Germany.

Thanks to the stylistic choices of the French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, Nina Hagen became a punk rock diva. The song is about a happy trip to Hindense. But in the end, due to bad times, the memories of the holidays were black and white, like everyday life in the former East Germany. With the choice, Merkel wants to remind (FAZ) the time of her youth and the country in which she lived and no longer exists, as at least she knew her. Choices that show sensitivity, sentimentality, confidence choices. He did not give in to the clichés of classical music, such as former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”, former Secretary of Defense Franz Josef Jung with “Time to say goodbuy” and Andrei Bo Andre by Helmut Kohl with Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”. Merkel is making the (musical) break with the conservatism she has served so diligently in her 16 years in office. It is never too late, and its withdrawal from active politics can be an occasion for it to break free from commitments. Life is good and in retirement …

Irini Anastassopoulou

Source: Deutsche Welle