Det magtfulde, skatteyderfinansierede tyske kulturråd vil have sat en stopper for populistiske debatprogrammer, for de skader islam og gavner Alternative fur Deutschland. Og det ødelægger landets sammenhængskraft.

Populist talkshows fuel rise of far right, German TV bosses told

The head of Germany’s most powerful cultural body has called for the plug to be pulled on the nation’s multitude of political talkshows for a year, arguing that their populist agenda has helped fuel the rise of the far right.

Olaf Zimmermann, who heads the German cultural council, an umbrella group for organisations from art galleries to television companies, said public broadcasters needed to step back and rethink a format that has helped cement gloom-ridden public attitudes towards refugees and Islam, and propelled the Alternative für Deutschland party into parliament at last September’s election. (…)

Since September’s election, which saw the AfD enter the Bundestag for the first time, much debate has surrounded the extent to which framing an issue, or lending a topic a certain perspective, might have helped their cause.

Television analysts have argued that the issue of refugees has been dealt with in a mostly negative way. (..)

A recent talkshow moderated by the veteran host Sandra Maischberger was advertised in TV listings with the title: “Are we too tolerant towards Islam?” Critics were quick to pounce on the word “we” as being problematic because it suggested “them and us”. The programme’s title was swiftly changed to: The Islam debate: where does our tolerance end?

Det måtte komme. Når magthaverne ikke kan klare sig på argumenter, har de andre metoder.