■ Daily Diepgen: „Die Welt“ in english
Nobody has any doubts about Berlin being one of Europe's most famous international sites. An amazing number of foreigners lend the city a multicultural atmosphere and the numbers of Turkish people are „the other Berlin“ seeing itself as a link between the occident an the orient. Even the increasing minority of Russians has developed its own viewpoint in the weekly Russkij Berlin.
Looking at the Russian efforts the ambassador of the United States could not resist a cold war answer. Speaking of the German capital as the „final victory of democracy throughout Europe“ Kornblum introduced the brand-new idea of the right-wing newspaper Die Welt, which reports about the New Berlin every day in English – an idea which is based on the most boring American prejudices, especially when they talk about issues such as the culture of the Berlin cuisine. „The city may have spent years in suspended animation, the only freedom being the freedom to dress badly.“ Wow! But what about the former youth senator Thomas („Eyes wide shut“) Krueger who looks as good naked as dressed in his famous collarless shirts.
However, the English articles do not present the changing city but the writers' perception of the cultural landscape and urban design. From that perspective former eastern „Stadtbezirke“ are no longer human catastrophies but sites of New Berlin adventures such as: „East Germany built flats with gas heatings, where the flat has an actual hole in the wall.“ What a lovely example for all those other bricks in the wall!
The only highlight is the view on the capital's elections next Sunday. Although the author bashes SPD candidate Walter Momper as „Dead Man Walking“, he does not forget the actual mayor Eberhard Diepgen, presented by his campaigners as running Ebi. „Diepgen's new image as someone dynamic counters his rather pedestrian speaking style.“ Bonmots like that however cannot hide the fact that the New Berlin Page of Die Welt is as redundant as the person after whom the column is named. Molly Bluhm
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