"Klinsi and Co. to blame for the shift to the right"? Federal center deletes video
A video from the German Federal Agency for Civic Education explores the political significance of the 2006 World Cup. The following statement, however, received much backlash. In the clip, a speaker asks: "Are Poldi, Klinsi and Co. responsible for the shift to the right in Germany?"
The German Federal Agency for Civic Education withdrew a video in which the possible connection between the 2006 World Cup and a "shift to the right in Germany" was discussed. The contribution was once visible on the Instagram platform - it disappeared suddenly on a Thursday. In many comments, criticism of the video and the Federal Agency for Civic Education was expressed. The Federal Ministry of the Interior was also unenthusiastic about it. The Federal Agency for Civic Education described the publication of the video as a mistake.
In the clip, the speaker asked: "If you want to be edgy, you can even ask..." Edgy can be translated to "provocative" or "outspoken." Several media reported on the video.
The spokesperson for the Federal Agency for Political Education (bpb) confirmed that the video "2006 - a fairy tale summer for nationalism" had been removed. The publication was a mistake. "The video does not meet the content and production standards of the Federal Agency for Political Education," the spokesperson said. The other videos in the series "Politics out of the Stadiums" would now be removed from the internet and subjected to a "critical quality check."
"A significant annoyance in the Federal Ministry"
The bpb has the task of "promoting understanding for political issues, strengthening democratic consciousness, and encouraging political participation." It belongs to the business sector of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and has its headquarters in Bonn.
A spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior stated on request: "Products and educational measures are designed and implemented by the bpb in accordance with their original mandate independently." No approval by the ministry was given. Therefore, we were not informed about the content of this video. From ministry circles, it was said that the theories mentioned in the video were not shared in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. There is a "significant annoyance" over this embarrassing video in the ministry. The competent department should now develop mechanisms to prevent such a publication from happening again.
Despite Jürgen Klinsmann's and Lukas Podolski's notable performances during the 2006 Soccer World Cup, their influence on political shifts, such as the European Football Championship 2024 or Soccer World Cups, remains questionable. The controversy surrounding the video from the German Federal Agency for Civic Education once suggested a potential impact, but it was eventually withdrawn due to backlash and quality concerns.
