Germany, Trust - understand-culture

The Tone of the Tagesschau

The Tagesschau is credited with keeping a sober, informative format since 1960. As a rule, its newsreaders read the reports from a teleprompter. The journalist Willi Winkler described the news as delivered “im amtsmännischen Ton der reinen Sachlichkeit,” in an official’s tone of pure objectivity.

When the program turned 70 in December 2022, its editor-in-chief, Marcus Bornheim, named what it values most. “Der größte Wert, den wir haben, ist unsere Glaubwürdigkeit.” The greatest asset we have is our credibility.

The Corrected CV

In June 2021, the Greens’ candidate for chancellor, Annalena Baerbock, had to correct her CV on her website. The heading Mitgliedschaften, memberships, became Beiräte, (Förder-)Mitgliedschaften, regelmäßige Unterstützung, advisory boards, supporting memberships and regular support. “Ich habe da offensichtlich einen Fehler gemacht und das tut mir sehr, sehr leid,” she said.

I obviously made a mistake there, and I am very, very sorry. The taz noted that her party’s poll numbers were falling again. It named two likely causes, the late reporting of special payments from her party and the inaccurate details in her CV.

Hard on the Matter

The president of the Bundestag can call a speaker back to the subject. This is the Sachruf. A speaker called back to the subject three times in one speech can lose the floor. The president can also call a member to order by name when the member violates the order or the dignity of the house. This is the Ordnungsruf.

Three calls to order within three sitting weeks bring a fine of 2,000 euros, and 4,000 euros in a repeat case. In November 2025 the Bundestag rejected objections by AfD members to calls to order they had received. Vice President Andrea Lindholz explained the line. Members may “hart in der Sache diskutieren,” argue hard on the substance. They may not give up decency and a dignified manner toward one another.

Criticism of the Matter, Not the Person

German constitutional law protects sharp criticism. It does not protect Schmähkritik, abusive criticism. The Federal Constitutional Court defines this narrowly. A statement is abusive criticism only when “nicht mehr die Auseinandersetzung in der Sache, sondern die Diffamierung der Person im Vordergrund steht.” The debate about the matter is no longer in the foreground, and the defamation of the person is.

Even exaggerated and abusive criticism is not Schmähkritik for that reason alone. In August 2020 the court overturned the conviction of a man in preventive detention. During a dispute over late pocket money, he had called a social worker at the prison a Trulla, a disparaging word for a woman.

Why Germans Trust Scientists

In November 2020, the survey Wissenschaftsbarometer asked 1,016 people in Germany about their trust in science. Sixty percent said they trusted science and research rather or fully.

The survey then asked for reasons. The reason with the most agreement was “Weil Wissenschaftler Experten auf ihrem Feld sind,” because scientists are experts in their field. Seventy percent agreed. The most common reason for distrust was that scientists depend strongly on those who fund them. Forty-nine percent agreed with that.

A Health Minister From the Field

On 6 December 2021, Olaf Scholz presented the Social Democratic ministers of his new government. He named Karl Lauterbach health minister. “Viele Menschen haben sich in Deutschland gewünscht, dass der Gesundheitsminister vom Fach ist und dass der nächste Minister Karl Lauterbach heißt. Er wird es.” Many people in Germany had wished that the health minister would be someone from the field, and that the next minister would be Karl Lauterbach.

He will be. Lauterbach is a physician and health economist. He had become known across the country through television talk shows during the pandemic. The medical journal Ärzteblatt called his obsession with detail his trademark. In the days before the announcement, the hashtag #wirwollenKarl, we want Karl, had spread on Twitter.

He Does Not Overstep His Competence

In April 2020, few scientists in Germany were listened to as closely as the virologist Christian Drosten. On 27 April, the news site t-online published an opinion piece listing reasons why he had become a hero against his will. Point five read: Er überschreitet seine Kompetenzen nicht. He does not overstep his competence.

The author explained that, as Drosten kept saying, science makes no political decisions and has no democratic mandate. Drosten wird nicht müde, das zu betonen, und hält sich daran. Drosten never tires of stressing this, and he keeps to it. Wenn er etwas nicht beurteilen kann, dann scheut er sich nicht, das zuzugeben. When he cannot judge something, he is not afraid to say so.

Words for Empty Talk

Schaumschläger
Froth-beater, also the word for a whisk. Duden defines it as a person who pretends to qualities or abilities that he does not have, especially from a need for recognition.

Blender
Dazzler. Someone who wins people over with outward advantages and so hides his weaknesses.

Phrasendrescher
Phrase-thresher. Someone who makes speeches that sound fine but say nothing.

Wichtigtuer
Someone who makes himself important.

Selbstdarsteller
Self-presenter. Someone whose actions serve to display himself.

Heiße Luft
Hot air. Das ist doch nur heiße Luft. That is only hot air.

Angeber, Großmaul
Show-off, bigmouth.

Something to Show

Jürgen Klinsmann came to FC Bayern Munich in 2008 with new concepts and ideas. On 27 April 2009, before the end of his first season, the club let him go. Jupp Heynckes, who had coached Bayern before, took over for the last five matches.

Uli Hoeneß, the club’s general manager, explained the choice: Wir brauchen jetzt jemanden, der schon etwas vorzuweisen hat. We now need someone who already has something to show. He added: Jedes Konzept liest sich prima auf dem Papier. Every concept reads well on paper.

The Missed Train

Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung, The Metamorphosis, published in 1915, begins with Gregor Samsa waking up as a giant insect. His first worry is not his body. It is the clock. Es war halb sieben Uhr, und die Zeiger gingen ruhig vorwärts. It was half past six, and the hands were moving calmly on. His train had left at five, and the next one would leave at seven.

Gregor thinks of his firm, which suspects the worst at the smallest failure. Then the firm’s chief clerk arrives at the apartment in person. He tells Gregor through the door: Und Ihre Stellung ist durchaus nicht die festeste. And your position is by no means the most secure. In five years of service, Gregor had not once been ill.