Olaf Scholz and communication: Chancellor in the unclear text trap

Berlin The interview lasted exactly one hour and 14 seconds. But a single sentence is enough for Olaf Scholz to get rid of the decisive question. It’s mid-March, Russian troops are advancing in Ukraine, and the Chancellor is answering live questions from ARD talk show host Anne Will.

Then as now, the federal government does not want to impose a gas embargo on Russia. Will asks Scholz why not. The Chancellor replies verbatim: “With the financial sanctions, with the sanctions against the central bank, we have already ensured that Russia cannot do anything with the billions that it has received and is receiving.”

For millions of television viewers, this must have been a surprising statement. German energy companies transfer billions of euros to Moscow every month, and Russia can’t do anything with the foreign exchange earnings? Hard to believe, but when the chancellor says it on Germany’s most important talk show, it must be true.