Berlin (dpa) – Stephan Lamby has dealt with his The documentary has drawn up a kind of backstage pass for German politics on all federal election campaigns since 1998, which probably no other journalist has.
He is allowed to take a look behind the scenes of the governments and parties that otherwise remain closed. Politicians literally push before his Camera. Anyone who appears in a Lamby documentary receives the rating “Particularly important in politics”.
This phenomenon is also in Lambys latest film “Paths to Power. Germany Decision year “to visit. the ARD brings the 75-Minutes on Monday (September 20) at prime time at 8:15 p.m., in the ARD media library it will be available from Sunday. All three candidates left for the film for months Lamby and his team: Union candidate for chancellor Armin Laschet, SPD finance minister Olaf Scholz and the green-top woman Annalena Baerbock.
How to succeed Lamby sometimes scenes other than those known from the “Tagesschau” than in April of this year Laschet and his CSU adversary Markus Söder wrestle for the Union candidate for chancellor. He even has a little scoop in the film that says a lot about the poisoned relationship between the two founding members of the Union: That South waived in the end, he explains in front of the press Munich. Laschet and CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemak are clueless and also say that in Lambys Camera.
The 62-year-old journalist is cinematically closer to Laschet than the other two candidates. You are in the Union headquarters when Earthling and his team of advisors received the good news for them that the CDU the State election in Saxony-Anhalt has won against all expectations. You can watch the young CDU General Secretary developing his speech modules for the TV statements. Most happy Earthling himself about his punching.
Annalena Baerbock shrinks through various affairs over weeks before the Camera from possible chancellor to candidate for counting, but her explanations for it have been heard many times.
Olaf Scholz intentionally remains as aloof as you know him. Has the most telling scene for it Lamby in his film, albeit heavily shortened: SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil has shown a negative election spot about Union politicians in front of Berlin journalists, which arouses outrage. Knew Scholz the spot, did he order it to be canceled?
To which answers Scholz not. Eight times, reveals Lamby, he has Scholz asked for it. For five and a half minutes it gave way Scholz him off until Lamby annoyed gave up. The one in the documentation The minute taken over does anyway Scholz’ greatest weakness clearly, the “scholzomatic” talk about one’s own failures.
Is “Ways to Power” just as strong a film as many of its Lamby predecessors? Yes and no. Yes, because in his good moments he takes us into the “Death zone” the Top politics, how Joschka Fischer once described the struggle for the chancellery. It’s cold and lonely there. The ARD documentary provides insights into desolate conference rooms, offices crowded with soulless furniture and all sorts of political trinkets. You can even catch a glimpse of the video screen of the Prime Minister’s Conference. Governing mutates into Homeschooling.
And the Greens federal manager Michael Kellner looking in his advertising agency the posters for that Election campaign by sticking yellow pieces of paper on the motifs that he likes. It’s as unglamorous as any conference in any office and therefore fascinating.
However, “Ways to Power” suffers from the fact that the film seeks its center in the long run, just like the entire country. Much is touched on, nothing is told: Corona, the economic and emotional consequences, other crises. Supporting actors like the pianist Igor Levit, which is supposed to stand for the social life coming to a standstill in the pandemic, in the end contribute just as little to understanding the film as a group of capital city journalists who verbally express their helplessness.
Probably for reasons of proportionality, FDP bosses also appear Christian Lindner, Alice Weidel (AfD) and Janine Wissler (Left) up. But they don’t help either.
This round shows that the film team, like all of us, was overwhelmed by the frequently changing circumstances and content of this election campaign: pandemic, Afghanistan, Flood, plagiarism, child reporter questions, stupid laughs – and where is Merkel actually?
In addition, the surveys are only momentary mood pictures of a disintegrating party landscape and no longer reliable forecasts. Finally escapes Laschet in the camp election campaign, Scholz is that not so wrong, the film ends.
The new confusion calls for other answers. For “Paths to Power” that might have been the strict focus on the three candidates. So the film pulls the curtain on a piece that we do not yet understand.
