Der Spiegel

Der Spiegel  22.6.2017 €4.90

Der Spiegel is a worthy mainstream German current affairs magazine with sections including a lead story, Germany, social affairs, business, foreign analysis, sport, science and culture. In this case, I clearly bought this copy for the culture section, because it features an interview with Peter Sloterdijk. Der Spiegel is dry and dense and the sort of magazine you'd enjoy reading with a plentiful supply of time and coffee at hand; otherwise it might feel a chore. 

Clearly, Helmut Kohl died prior to this edition, and his legacy is the lead story. Apparently Der Spiegel was rather mean to him, and he once responded: "Es lohnt sich, in Deutschland links zu schreiben und rechts zu leben," as well as "Ich lese den nicht und bin übrigens nicht gegen den Spiegel, auch nicht gegen die Müllabfuhr in Bonn." Elsewhere, Jan Fleischhauer loves freedom of speech, BUT. Lots of wordy pieces by* politicians; well, I suppose it's appropriate in this case, but I strongly suspect Macron didn't write this and I ain't readin it. Ullrich Fichtner: "Der Philosoph Peter Sloterdijk hat in einem Interview im Jahr 2002 einmal gesagt, die deutsche Außenpolitik sei bis tief in die Ära Kohl hinein vom Bewusstsein geprägt gewesen, 'dass wir uns auf einer Sonderschule der Demokratie den Abschluss erst erarbeiten müssen'... Deutschlands große Macht und sein Einfluss im damaligen Europa, bis 1998, gründeten paradoxerweise auf nationaler Bescheidenheit." Michael Sontheimer explains why Kohl was bad: "Intellektuelle mochte er gar nicht." Hools dress the same to confuse the police (where did they get that idea?). Team Schulz diagnosed with a disconnect from reality (never bet on politics based on media hype). The BND spied on the Americans and everyone else, including the British Library, apparently. Don't take 2C-E. East German architecture in Potsdam. America grifters. German trains strain. Oettinger wants EU tax. 

Well, there's LOADS of stuff. With Der Spiegel, you're not going to run out of something to read if you're stuck in an airport. Jörg Schindler on Britain: "Vier Terroranschläge in drei Monaten, ein Hochhausbrand mit rund 80 Toten, eine verrückte Wahl, die eine paralysierte Regierung zurückgelassen hat – und das alles unmittelbar vor Brexit-Verhandlungen, welche die Zukunft des Landes auf Jahrzente hinaus bestimmen werden. Eine zufällige Kette von Ereignissen, die nichts miteinander zu tun haben, so scheint es. Aber es scheint eben nur so." Israelis and Palestinians talk. Ronaldo taxes and Asian match fixing. Weight loss surgery leading to new addictions. 

Peter Sloterdijk: extraordinarily productive. On Kohl: "Man soll seinen Antipathien treu bleiben." If you're familiar with Sloterdijk, you'll find nothing surprising in the interview. One might take note of: "Der regressive Nationalismus unserer Tage hat aber, was man nicht vergessen darf, eine defensive und immunitäre Funktion. Er wendet sich gegen die Idee, dass es absolute Reisefreiheit für Gefährdungen geben soll."

Some have made it clear to me that they consider particular German philosophers what one might call stodgy and self-satisfied. As to whether you'd apply that to the forum in which they might appear, I will take a detour: in Britain we have news and politics currents affairs magazines, which are clearly on one side or the other, i.e. Spectator or New Statesman. One would also say that they are more modern or possibly more lightweight in presentation than Der Spiegel. Perhaps the closest equivalent in general category if not quite content is Time; truly the most similar are perhaps the serious parts of the Sunday supplement magazines such as the Sunday Times. Am I alone in thinking that the French and German media landscapes are a tad more high-cultured than wot we have?

© Bryn Roberts 2023

Published 4 July 2023