Off-Script at a Scripted Event With the Chancellor

The following videos show an event in Germany in which Chancellor Angela Merkel interacted with her audience, at what would be called a “town hall meeting” in the context of American politics. And just as in any town hall meeting starring Hillary Clinton, the event with the chancellor was tightly scripted. There were no chance encounters between Mutti and her audience, no serendipitous exchanges of views.

After the event, a photo of a page in the script surfaced in the alternative media. The document appeared to show the names and photos of people in the audience alongside their questions. Handwritten information was appended, and some of the participants seemed to be marked for inclusion.

The strategy for the set-up is obvious: participants were chosen to make the chancellor look good in various ways. The carefully-coiffed, perfectly-integrated Syrian migrant was selected to be a poster boy for the government’s migration policies. But difficult questions that touch on sensitive issues were also included, to allow Mrs. Merkel to respond in a reassuring fashion, and thus defuse public criticism on the topic — or so it was hoped. The woman in the second video was obviously included for this reason.

But the exchange in the third video — the one with the cleaning lady — seems to go off-script. Watch what happens when a different woman gets the microphone and interjects a scornful rebuke, throwing Mutti off her game.

Many thanks to Nash Montana for translating all three of these videos, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling.

Translator’s introduction to video #1: In this video the Syrian refugee speaks. He tells her about his life here and how much he loves Merkel. Note Merkel’s body language. Completely open, facing him directly, with her hands in “raute”. Compare this to the other two videos, where she turns away from the German women, and keeps her left arm as a protective barrier against the women speaking:

Translator’s introduction to video #2: In this second video, watch Merkel’s body language. She’s completely turned off to this woman:

Translator’s introduction to video #3: This woman is described as a “housekeeper”, a “cleaning lady”. She has a beef with Merkel about the low pension. AGAIN watch the body language. AGAIN she is not facing this lady full on either, just like she didn’t the last lady, and completely opposite to the rapefugee, whom she stood in front of face to face with open body language and her hands typical in “raute” pose.

Video transcript #1:

0:00   Before you know my name, I love you.
0:03   [laughter]
0:07   Now, my wife will see this.
0:10   Eh, she’ll understand how you meant that.
0:13   You are the best after my Papa and my Mama. —Good.
0:16   Because you work with your heart. My name is Ahmed […].
0:19   I come from Syria. I have been in Germany for almost
0:22   two years, minus ten days, I am, I have…
0:25   I am educated as a physical therapist,
0:28   I studied in Syria, I work as an aid in a Praxis,
0:31   in North Rhine-Westphalia, Duisburg,
0:34   I have made my Bufti, Federal Volunteer Service, (bundesfreiwilligendienst.de)
0:37   for the project […], maybe you know it? [Merkel nods and mumbles affirmingly]
0:41   yes, and for two,
0:44   since I have been here in Germany,
0:47   I cannot say that
0:50   I am a zero, I have made big steps forward,
0:53   yes, but there are… some small points where I…
0:56   cannot find a solution…
0:59   for instance family reunification.
1:02   I am married and my wife is in Syria.
1:05   she has filed for a visa at the embassy but
1:08   we have not yet gotten an answer, I know that we…
1:11   we are many here in Germany, but what does one like me do,
1:14   I don’t want help from welfare or job center,
1:17   I didn’t have that in Syria,
1:20   and not in Germany either,
1:23   not in France, not in Turkey.
1:26   That is number one, and number two is…
1:29   my certificate as a physical therapist is
1:32   still not finished, it’s been on the desk of the district government in Düsseldorf
1:35   for a year now. I’m not getting an answer.
1:38   What should I do? I want to go on, always go on,
1:41   I want to go forward, I don’t want to give up. [Merkel again grunts affirmingly]
1:44   And one more thing. My residence permit is good
1:47   until May 2019. I now have
1:50   my own apartment; I pay my own rent;
1:53   I pay taxes, everything.
1:56   What should I do after May 2019, when Germany authorities
1:59   will say ‘bye’. I don’t want to say bye, I don’t want to go.
2:02   I don’t want to say bye because I have a good —
2:05   I have a good life here that I built for myself.
2:08   This is complicated; I am not happy. I don’t want to say bye;
2:11   I want a solution; I want an answer,
2:14   from you, or from the government.
2:17   Everything positive, all good. —Yeah, okay, I have… [Merkel attempts to speak but he cuts her off]
2:20   And I am always positive, you have to think positive of us, and…
2:23   But you have asked your three questions already.
2:26   Okay, then, I, I, from what you have told me,
2:29   I understand that you have an acknowledgment
2:32   according to the Geneva refugee convention,
2:35   and that you therefore also have a right to demand
2:38   family reunification with your wife,
2:41   and there I’m just going to say that takes time,
2:44   because just like you said there are a lot of people,
2:47   we have to work this all out, and we…
2:50   we also have to — this family reunification just takes
2:53   a little while longer than you yourself may have wished.
2:56   Second, the residency status according to the
2:59   Geneva refugee convention is one that
3:02   relies upon the fact that there is a civil war at this time in Syria.
3:05   This means that we have to look at it then,
3:08   in 2019, how the situation is in Syria then,
3:11   and if one can perhaps go back by then,
3:14   and this has to be judged at that time.
3:17   Now you have taken big steps in your professional life,
3:20   and as far as your certificate of your profession,
3:23   which is a profession in the health/medical field,
3:26   still to be decided by the district government North Rhine-Westphalia,
3:29   I would say you write them again,
3:32   and ask what has happened so far… —I have done that five time already.
3:35   Then I will… you have already called there five times. —I have already five — my employer has
3:38   already called five times; I myself have already…
3:41   Good, then I will look for… where do you live? —I live in Duisburg.
3:44   Duisburg! Then I will seek out the member of parliament,
3:47   I mean, I can’t make it so that I — Frau Chancellor just
3:50   met you and now everything is going dandy,
3:53   I can’t do that, but I can look for you,
3:56   and you too can give me address, to seek out the
3:59   member of parliament so that he maybe look at that at the district…
4:02   For me, family reunification. I can’t live here without my wife. That doesn’t work. —Yes, yes…
4:05   I have thought many times I should go back… —Yes, yes, you have made a request,
4:08   I have now understood this, I understand you,
4:11   but, see… just hang tight a little longer.
4:14   And we, and we…
4:17   But, but yeah, of course for two years,
4:20   but look, in that year 890,000 people came here, and that was for us, too,
4:23   and I really have to, recognize the humanitarian emergency,
4:26   but you too please have understanding that we too have to
4:29   see and we do our best, but this is the residence
4:32   according to the Geneva refugee convention,
4:35   and that is a temporary one,
4:38   just stay optimistic and…
4:41   No this is…
4:44   I think that time is… —We ask for understanding that time…
 

Video transcript #2:

0:00   Uh, I come from Erfurt.
0:04   What I want to ask you fits perfectly with what the previous woman said,
0:08   which is topics that are taboo.
0:11   One topic that has been ignored by the media for a very long time
0:14   is the fact that under this enormous mass
0:17   of migrants since the years 2015 and 2016,
0:20   the majority of them were men,
0:23   or are men! Estimations are between
0:26   70% to 80%. I have no concrete numbers,
0:29   but I can refer to a few articles, for instance
0:32   SPIEGEL ONLINE or HUFFINGTON POST,
0:35   What this means in clear text:
0:38   we have hundreds of thousands of men
0:41   for whom their female counterparts are simply missing,
0:44   and over the past two years this has gotten worse.
0:47   An excess of men in a country,
0:50   respectively a lack of women,
0:53   always leads to problems, there are enough examples
0:56   from the past, in the present perhaps India,
0:59   these societies are less stable, they tend to be more violent,
1:02   and they especially tend towards sexual violence against women.
1:05   Additionally, we have the problem that a lot
1:08   of these men come from tribal structures,
1:11   from countries that are more prone to violence,
1:14   that are socialized to use violence as a solution
1:17   for their problems, and what especially
1:21   troubles me, a backwards view of women.
1:24   The consequences for all that are easily observed in our country.
1:27   Beyond all political correctness, we can see
1:30   we have a dramatic rise in sexual attacks,
1:33   we have a dramatic rise in the number of rapes,
1:36   I can give you here a concrete example…
1:39   May we… —No. I would like to read the numbers now
1:42   I have here, for example, from September 12, 2017,
1:45   from the cabinet session of the Bavarian government,
1:48   I have current numbers, in which…
1:51   there are 50% more rapes, and rapes committed by migrants
1:54   have risen by 90%, you can of course verify that.
1:57   I can also tell you one example of an especially
2:00   heinous case from my neighborhood.
2:03   My question is, how do you plan to correct this imbalance,
2:06   this demographic slant, this drastic change
2:09   of our population structure in the near future?
2:14   Well, I believe,
2:17   ummm…
2:20   I want to say a few things once, that when it is about
2:23   criminal activity, there are no topics that are taboo,
2:26   and since you do have numbers and since this is
2:29   being talked about, and it’s even written about,
2:32   when such horrible things happen, then this is terrible enough,
2:35   but there are, in Germany there was also already terrible
2:38   sexual violence, one should not forget that as well.
2:41   And therefore I want to… —Yes, but it did not come to this level of escalation.
2:44   Uh, uh, may I, I only want… we have,
2:47   we follow the criminal statistics very closely,
2:50   including sexual offenses, of course,
2:53   and we have here…
2:56   gained the knowledge that generally it is not like this,
2:59   and I want to tell you very clearly that…
3:02   [sheeple clapping]
3:05   that we have terrible isolated incidents, that we in the meantime
3:08   do say that criminal offenders have to leave our country,
3:11   we have absolutely tightened these laws,
3:14   but what you now highlight as this grand
3:17   demographic problem, that I don’t see.
3:20   We have situations where people come from
3:23   according to the Geneva refugee convention, there are
3:26   and we have to — in a timely manner — see how we even
3:29   uh, deal with it, but there is the possibility of family reunification
3:32   for marital partners and children,
3:35   but not for further family members,
3:38   we also have other cases where people have to be here alone,
3:41   and I can’t just verify your numbers now just like that,
3:44   that this is just single men, there are also but there are…
3:47   That is not what I said. —No. Apologies. I take that back,
3:50   you said that predominantly… I can
3:53   I can — I don’t have a number in front of me,
3:56   and if these are single men or not,
3:59   uh… criminal offenses,
4:02   also sexual offenses, are not allowed here with us,
4:05   and they are punished, and whoever commits them
4:08   will leave our country again, and we have that now, uh,
4:11   officially regulated. But we should not,
4:14   but we should not put all under a general suspicion. —I did not say that.
4:17   No you have not done that, but… [sheeple clapping]
4:20   …but I’ll say it,
4:23   you have not done that, but you have insinuated that we
4:26   have a number of young men here
4:29   who could be bringing our number of our demographic balance
4:32   into disarray, and that we could therefore have problems
4:35   that we can’t deal with, and that I do not believe.
4:38   We have to be tough [sheeple clapping] against sexual offenses.
4:41   We have to be tough against every offense.
4:44   We have to do everything to send people back to their homes again,
4:47   but we also want that people integrate themselves
4:50   when they have come here to us, everyone has
4:53   openly deserved a life of their own, and that is what I stand for.
 

Video transcript #3:

<+tr>

0:00   Of course I have concerned myself with the topic of pensions,
0:03   because I have five and a half years left until then,
0:06   it really concerned me, and I have compared
0:09   other systems, for instance that in Austria,
0:12   where they have a citizens’ insurance, where everybody pays into,
0:15   whether parliamentarians or self-employed people,
0:18   or uh…
0:21   every physician, every free-lancing person,
0:24   and also public officials.
0:27   There it is possible that a housekeeper
0:30   who has worked for 30 years,
0:33   part-time weekly, 30 hours,
0:36   then ends up with over €1,000 for a monthly pension,
0:39   while I — after 40 years of work — end up with €654 per month
0:43   of which my health insurance still has not been paid either,
0:47   Why does the government here in Germany not seem to be able
0:50   to look at such a system and to introduce this system for us here.
0:54   [audience claps]
1:01   Would that… but first I just have to say that
1:04   I understand that, which also makes you… a bit dissatisfied,
1:07   I say that completely honestly,
1:10   Uh, but, our pension system has now grown
1:13   for such a long time already,
1:16   And we have… we can of course compare ourselves
1:19   to Austria, but then there are maybe other things
1:22   that maybe aren’t as good as they are here and just off the top of my head
1:25   I can’t really say exactly what, but I believe you,
1:28   I believe that the Austrian pension system in that regard really is better,
1:31   I am not questioning your comparison.
1:34   Back when we introduced the basic security benefit system
1:37   we also made sure that there was no recourse on one’s own children anymore,
1:40   exactly because we wanted to get rid of this shameful every-day poverty. [Alltags-Armut]
1:44   I don’t know if you’ve paid into any additional insurance, ‘Riester’ for instance?
1:47   With €1,050?
1:50   [Leaves Merkel speechless…]
1:53   No, one doesn’t have to, well, no no no no…, but you could…
1:56   no, no matter… uh, you mean at €1,050 to add a ‘Riester’ provision.
1:59   I wouldn’t pay for ‘Riester’ anyway. [Riester provision, introduced by pol named Riester]
2:02   Why not?
2:05   I think that Riester… the only one who ever got rich with ‘Riester’ is Riester, and nobody else.
2:09   Well yeah, there…
2:12   yeah there I am a little of a different opinion, I have to honestly say,
2:15   because we support that from…
2:18   That’s such a joke this Riester provision, it earns zero interest!
2:21   [Woman gets microphone] That’s a joke, what you’re narrating here, poverty among the elderly
2:24   still exists, and I find it shameless to offer this woman this kind of an answer.
2:27   Well may I… that… that… I can understand that well too,
2:30   I am taking that into consideration,
2:33   but I still may ask the question,
2:36   I personally believe that ‘Riester’ has one large advantage
2:39   over all other capital-covered systems,
2:42   because first of all the State sponsors it,
2:45   and second you will in any case get back what you put in
2:48   despite whatever financial crisis that happens,
2:51   and thirdly, when you… uh, pay into the ‘Riester’ pension,
2:54   there is no surcharge on your basic security benefits,
2:58   but you will be able to keep some additional money on top,
3:01   and I find that is the right way, and I also don’t know if you have children?
3:04   No. —No? Because then you could also…
3:07   But Frau Merkel, that is not the answer to my question.
3:10   I have asked why it does not seem possible in Germany
3:13   to create a similar pension system where the people receive at least
3:16   a basic pension of €1,000, €1,050 per month,
3:19   and not with, after 40 years of working,
3:22   uh…
3:25   have to creep around the train station to collect bottles and cans,
3:28   just to improve their existence a little bit.
3:31   Yeah, I can’t just… Look…
3:34   Look I can…
3:37   Or is the reality that, since you yourself are a legislator,
3:40   that you’re afraid that you would have
3:43   to pay into that with your own money?
3:46   Well this is now… I am not afraid of that at all,
3:49   that there is a pension system into which money is paid.
3:52   I can’t convince you either now,
3:55   but I think that with the basic benefits system we have
3:58   created a way to define legal demands,
4:01   and you can — if you have any additional plans —
4:04   add them on top, and I can understand
4:07   that you are not content with that,
4:10   and I can only say
4:13   we may have to pay better for those kinds of jobs,
4:16   you yourself are negotiating your prices,
4:19   and in that regard we all know how hard that is,
4:22   a lot of the times in hospitals
4:25   the cleaning service costs are pre-determined and there the chances aren’t
4:28   very good to earn more for work that’s very hard to do,
4:31   but I can’t just promise right now that our pension system will change.
4:34   What do you mean by ‘right now’?
4:37   Well, ‘right now’ means that we, at some… uh…
4:40   That you will change it one of these days?
4:43   So that we, too, can enjoy a little bit of a better life in our old age?
4:46   I want very much that you too have a good life in your old age,
4:49   and that’s why I say it again, with the basic benefit system we did take
4:52   an important step, and with the possibility to add on
4:55   to the existing pension you are still dissatisfied,
4:58   and I will try to see that we can let that further increase,
5:01   but I cannot also right now make a promise to you that I won’t be able to keep.
5:04   I just want to very quickly add that it is absurd
5:07   that in the richest country,
5:10   in one of the richest countries in the world,
5:13   pensioners are treated like this, so that they
5:16   when they are actually going into retirement, that they can’t do anything other
5:19   than to sit around at home because they can’t afford anything else anymore.
5:22   They can’t participate anywhere anymore,
5:25   and work for forty years so hard, and end up taking home €650,
5:28   poor Germany!
5:31   Good, uh, I’m going to repeat this,
5:34   I can’t now… your biography, it’s difficult, I can see that,
5:37   but I can tell you again it’s not like all retirees in Germany
5:40   are now having a really bad life,
5:43   that won’t help you now, and because we have seen
5:46   that there’s this shameful elder poverty,
5:49   because we have seen that for many people,
5:52   for whom paying rent its very difficult,
5:55   we have introduced the basic benefits program and housing assistance program,
5:58   so that one can keep one’s apartment,
6:01   and that is… for you not satisfying enough, and I will
6:04   take that with me, but I cannot promise you anything different right now, either.
 

10 thoughts on “Off-Script at a Scripted Event With the Chancellor

  1. Video #1: The Syrian refugee dude seems like a harmless/nice enough guy, but am I the only one who notices that he says that he considered going back to Syria because of his wife?

    Gee, what happened to the basis upon which he made a refugee claim? It can’t be that bad if he’s thinking of going back.

    Note how he’s not even afraid of the consequences of admitting this to the Chancellor on television.

    Not that his points about difficulties in getting qualifications recognised for work purposes aren’t valid ones, likely as not.

    Germany is done.

    • the syrian refugee must be staged. Imho , his german grammar and syntax, in extenso even his rhetoric skills are far beyond anything that can be aquiered within two years besides fullfilling a job. Not even high notch students from those countries do speak a german like his after years in the country. Can any reader here identify this guy?

  2. Note Merkel’s body language. Completely open, facing him directly, with her hands in “raute”.
    – – – – – – – – – –
    I had forgotten what the “raute” was; it is explained and pictured in
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkel-Raute
    But this hand gesture is by no means “probably one of the most recognisable hand gestures in the world”. It’s not even in the top ten among recognizable hand gestures, and that’s counting just the obscene ones.

    • Really, that is what is so inexplicable about the “plight” of the Syrian refugee.
      Things are so bad in Syria that I left my wife there.
      I do not want to minimize the hundreds of thousands of dead there but… why did you leave your wife?
      I think it is a pervasive attitude in Muslim culture; if my wife gets killed I can always get another.

    • To any Muslim anywhere in the world, Germany especially is a scream come true. Grass gas and their Christian women – everybody rides free. A trip that is both enriching and liberating. Muslims only need apply.

  3. I looked at the question by the cleaning lady and Merkel’s lame, incoherent response. I had to ask who wrote Merkel’s thesis on theoretical physics? She seems incapable of the most elementary train of thought.

    The fact is, there are no resources for German pensioners because all available state money is being blottered up by the needs and demands of the refugees. Pensioners are unlikely to riot and smash windows if they are shortchanged, whereas Syrian male refugees of military age and likely military experience are quite capable of creating disruptions and putting bureaucrats into their most dreaded conundrums: having to take responsibility for something.

  4. Merkel spews octopus ink for a few minutes and then we get her ‘solution’ bring in the women and children Muslim invaders for the men to breed with.

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