Monrepos or the coldness of power

Feature photo: Seeschloss Monrepos in the north-west of Ludwigsburg | © Pixabay

Sobered by my own experiences in Brussels, I returned from there at the end of 2012 faster than originally planned. To my own chagrin, that stay had become a déjà vu of 2009-2010. i had this already briefly mentioned in my weblog.

When I was then invited to a chat with a good friend in 2013, I couldn't help but analyze my experiences with a real professional in more detail. He had just received his well-deserved retirement, having previously earned his merits at state level. He was able to understand my coming to terms with my experiences in Brussels, which had more to do with our federal than with European politics, but only elicited a weary smile from the professional.

Now, a few years later, I know that such experiences are inversely proportional to the level of politics, ergo, the worst stabbings happen at the local level. I can still hear the words of a friend who, completely unnerved by the customs at the community level, despite having two young children, fled to the private sector. Stupidity coupled with power is a devilish constellation that can have a particularly strong effect on a local level; unless you manage to promote even the most uneducated politicians to the highest levels.

In order to reconcile myself with the experiences I had made, my good friend recommended me the book by dr Manfred Zach, a ministerial director and Baden-Württemberg government spokesman in the Dr. Lothar Spaeth Era. I read this book with great interest, admittedly also with a great deal of malicious glee, and was once again glad that I was traveling professionally at European level.

The book can still be recommended today, especially because a governing party, voted out by the citizens and completely burned out in terms of content, is just about to want to know everything better again. It's just astonishing that these politicians, who are responsible for the entire mess, have completely driven our country to the wall. dr Manfred Zach described the whole thing aptly a good 10 years ago.

My conclusion after reading the book: Politicians, civil servants and authors are only human. Easy to read and amusing at times. What's good about this edition is that some of the protagonists have been "deciphered". It would have been better if the entire breakdown — which unfortunately is only available separately — had been included.

But even without knowing their real names, the book gives an interesting insight into the activities of an official in the State Ministry and the probably unavoidable combination of party and government work.

In the meantime, other people are sitting in Monrepos, unfortunately the circumstances have not really improved. Educational distance continues to blossom, and so it happens that not only the immediate environment is tormented with the affections of the powerful, but now also completely uninvolved citizens - the "herbal tea terror" can serve as a good example! Really everyone, except for a single citizen, can drink their herbal tea without much fuss.

And while I'm at it, I'll just put the breakdown of some pseudonyms for the book "Monrepos or the coldness of power" from dr Manfred Zach attached as a PDF download.