Finance Minister Lindner celebrated his wedding for days with numerous prominent guests. After the wedding in the registry office and the polter band, the church wedding followed on Saturday. One picture of the celebrations caught the eye of guest author Franz Sommerfeld.

There are images that stand for the times and the ability of contemporaries to do them justice.

The picture from January 30, 1968, in which Ralf Dahrendorf, an FDP member for only three months, argues with Rudi Dutschke during the FDP party conference in Freiburg, marks a departure of the liberal party that lasted three decades, in which the FDP took up German politics with coined. Dahrendorf fought against the will of his party leaders with the rebellious youth, took them seriously and was not deterred by some of the misguided ideas that finally triggered the greatest upheaval in the western world in the post-war period and ushered in a cultural and social break that has had an impact to this day.

More than 50 years later, the West faces a far greater threat from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The advance of the aggressors is stabilizing and it is not yet clear where and how it can be stopped. Germany, dependent on Russian gas, faces a severe energy crisis accompanied by massive inflation that hits those who earn the least hardest.

Franz Sommerfeld, born in 1949, worked as a journalist after studying Protestant theology. He was editor-in-chief of the “Deutsche Volkszeitung” and in 1990 was one of the co-founders of the East-West newspaper “Freitag” in Berlin. He was then, among other things, editor-in-chief of the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” and a board member of the DuMont Schauberg media group. Sommerfeld had previously posted the text on Facebook.

In this situation, the FDP chairman and finance minister invited the leaders of German politics to a three-day wedding event in the traditional pubs of supposed or actual celebrities on the island of Sylt. Incidentally, his old friend, with whom he filed his first bankruptcy hearing, was not invited.

Because this is not a private celebration, but a carefully orchestrated public event, accompanied by photos and films. And of course from “Image”. In doing so, Lindner allows himself the staging of an old world that has long passed away and thus reveals more about his understanding of the present than in any political appearance. Although the top liberal politician, like his wife, does not belong to any church, he gets married in the popular island church of St. Severin. An ancient community ritual becomes a backdrop.

Finance Minister Christian Linder (FDP) celebrates his pompous wedding with journalist Franca Lehfeldt on the celebrity island of Sylt for three days. A guest: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). At the same time, your government is preparing the citizens for difficult times, and many people are already running out of money. What do you think: does Lindner’s extravagant wedding fit into this time? Write to us at mein-bericht@focus.de.

Unlike Robert Habeck, Olaf Scholz could hardly resist his coalition partner’s invitation to come to Sylt. The Federal Chancellor had just urged the German people to join hands, because then they would be strong. If he and his finance minister soon demand sacrifices, they will not be able to displace the strong images of the Sylt wedding event.

After the wedding, Lindner drives his wife to Severin’s Resort in an open black Porsche Targa to change

At the Lindner wedding, many celebrities would have given up gifts in favor of a donation to Ukraine. On the other hand, a soup tureen from the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory worth more than 1,000 euros is said to be on Lindner’s wish-list. Does the FDP leader still assume that Ukraine will fail? On the day of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian ambassador claims, Linder explained to him that given the Russian superiority, it was pointless to deliver weapons: “That was the worst conversation in my life.” During Lindner’s wedding, Andriy Melnyk’s dismissal was officially announced, a presumably unplanned wedding gift from the Ukrainian government. In the evening in the “Sansibar” the champagne corks will have popped discreetly.