Navigator Ralf Stegner, guiding force on the route to tranquility on the busy highway.
Article Rewrite:
Berlin Boulevard: Ghost Driver Ralf Stegner on the Highway to Participationism
Guest Article by Marie von den Benken
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After the FIEDVRUV proposal, one can't help but brace themselves for Stegner and Mützenich setting sail from Usedom to Petersburg on the "Freedom Flotilla II" or perhaps the "Granu-Fink-Jolle." Is it important? Absolutely not, as long as it's Russia.
If you remove four letters from the word "manifesto," what do you get? Coincidentally, it's "mist."Now, this isn't some cryptic nod, and it certainly isn't a prophecy. Moreover, it's definitely not a final verdict on the Stegner/Mützenich proposal titled "Europe's Peace through Strength, Arms Control, and Dialogue." A title that'd make even "Jimi Blue" and "Wilson Gonzales" seem more diplomatic. While they may not be young, progressive politicos, they're actually the offspring of the legendary German acting duo Uwe and Natascha Ochsenknecht. So, we have the "Ochsenknecht Peace Proposal."
With that said, the only remotely endearing aspect of the Stegner/Mützenich tract is established. The SPD's "war hawks" Ralf Stegner and Rolf Mützenich have managed to christen their proposal in such a fashion that, even under the guise of FIEDVRUV, it's destined for mediocrity. It's a time when every participant in public discourse is privy to the meanings of GNTM, DSDS, or IBES without having to google it. And our protagonists follow the principle "think small, write big" when drafting their ostensibly pacifist brochure.
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Is Julia Stegner related to Ralf Stegner?
The century's work of the Kremlin connection, credited to Stegner, Mützenich, and SPD veterans like Norbert Walter-Borjans or Hans Eichel, has proven to be such a Putinesque endorsement that Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are pondering awarding the authors the highest Russian patriotism award, the "Golden Rubel-Laufburschen."
By chance, an anagram of "Stegner" is "gestern." Interestingly enough, this also accurately encapsulates Stegner's political orientation. An assessment shared by FDP rising star Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. Stracki, as her inner circle calls her, barked at Mützenich and Stegner on Elon Musk's former microblogging platform "X" and referred to them as "the Eternal Ghosts of German security and foreign policy."
At first glance, this remark might evoke a whiff of Uli Hoeneß and Lothar Matthäus: "As long as I'm the coach at Bayern, Lothar Matthäus won't even become a greenkeeper." On closer examination, though, one quickly realizes that Strack-Zimmermann and the Stegner/Mützenich tandem crossed paths in traffic light coalition politics not long ago. And a degree of camaraderie persists even after the coalition break-up spectacle that became known as "FDP Day."
Commentary "Stegner's History of Peace" Manifesto Embroiled in a Fatal MisinterpretationLet's be frank: If Ralf Stegner, the peace dove in intellectual lineage, is hailed as a "security and foreign policy expert," then Jan Josef Liefers is a Nobel Prize-winning virologist. For those unfamiliar with German television culture, Jan Josef Liefers is still waiting on an Oscar for his lifetime achievement "#Allesdichtmachen," a fact that's as surprising as his appearances on "Wetten, dass..?" outnumbering Strack-Zimmermann, Mützenich, and Stegner combined.
Strack-Zimmermann should be aware of this. As she assumed the helm of the Defense Committee just before the eruption of war in Ukraine, she is often taunted as a "war-monger" by educational simpletons (and Sahra Wagenknecht). Granted, she may not be an authority on foreign policy security with this background.
Stegner's expertise, on the contrary, revolves around domestically inspired positions at the administrative level. For a spell during the 2000s, he served as the finance minister of Schleswig-Holstein. A job he executed so impressively that he transitioned to the Ministry of the Interior in Kiel shortly thereafter. Sadly, he didn't last long. After a series of scathing, coalition-sabotaging criticisms of the GroKo partner CDU, he tendered his resignation voluntarily.
Politics Roth on SPD Peace Manifesto "This isn't a debate contribution; this is historical revisionism"It remains contentious whether the venerable social democrat residing in Bordesholm and a frequent television guest on ÖRR has established himself as a foreign policy authority on security issues with this experience. On the bright side, Schleswig-Holstein does share a border with Denmark. A country where the warlike tendencies of the Vikings persist. And there is even an interchange named after Bordesholm. If Stegner could have ensured peace in the early Middle Ages via his manifesto approach "More diplomacy, fewer weapons" among the Nordic war bands, we'd never know.
Politics Stegner Defends SPD Paper "What's So Problematic About Talking About Peace?" Less Surprising Than the Poor Quality of My Wordplay is the Content of Stegner's Manifesto, Which Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann Describes as a "Reality-Denying Pamphlet Full of Fatal Misconceptions" and "A Bow to a War Criminal and an Insult to the Victims": No More Weapons to Ukraine, Talk, Talk, Talk. Precisely Who, With Whom, and Above All, About What - That Remains Unclear. Especially Given That Volodymyr Zelensky Recently Signed off on a 30-Day Ceasefire and Complied with Most other Peace Demands of US President Donald Trump, While Putin Sent an Irrelevant Pseudo-Delegation to Negotiations in Istanbul, Whose Influence on Russia's Geostrategic Orientation Appars About as Significant as Helene Fischer's on Venezuela's Gross Domestic Product.
Let the Fools Keep Their Drums
While Ukraine has made significant concessions, Russia remains unyielding on every war aim, even in negotiations. The notion of talking a lot instead of delivering a plethora of weapons is as revolutionary as suggesting to set one's house ablaze because energy costs are high. We long for peace. But Stegner and Mützenich's absurd Green Table utopia seems so remote, one can't help but fear their next move will be to board an oligarch-funded "Freedom Flotilla II" and embark on a peace-making voyage from Usedom to St. Petersburg, delivering 100 kilograms of homemade peace pipes to Putin. A small consolation: If one considers the peace-making abilities of Stegner/Mützenich, the activist ship used for their journey into the deescalation horizon would likely not garner theHashtag #SelfieYacht, but rather as the "Granu-Fink Jolly."
In any case, what remains of the manifesto is the undeniable realization: Mützenich and Stegner play the Kremlin Orchestra's legendary tune with such finesse, it seems as if they're a propaganda balalaika tailored by Putin himself. With no doubt, a musical achievement of the two peace gurus. However, so far, they've been disarmed in the area of political profundity. And that's enough for today: ciao, baby.
Source: ntv.de
- Ralf Stegner
- Rolf Mützenich
- SPD
- Russia
- Lobbying
- The SPD's Ralf Stegner and Rolf Mützenich, often associated with Russia due to their lobbying efforts, have been criticized for their pro-Russia stance, with FDP rising star Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann labeling them as "the Eternal Ghosts of German security and foreign policy."
- The frustration surrounding the SPD's peace manifesto titled "Europe's Peace through Strength, Arms Control, and Dialogue" extends to the realm of general-news, with politics expert Moira Roth describing it as "historical revisionism" rather than a meaningful contribution to the debate.
