Chancellor Olaf Scholz (65, SPD) obviously wants to be more approachable, especially to young voters. Scholz can now also be officially found on TikTok, as government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit (51) announced on April 8th.
The Federal Government’s Press and Information Office (BPA) is now “also present on TikTok,” explains Hebestreit. “With the new channel, the Federal Press Office is expanding its range of information for citizens, who are increasingly finding out and exchanging information about politics on TikTok.” It is aimed “particularly at younger users”.
In this way, the BPA wants to offer, among other things, insights into the Chancellor’s work as well as space for suggestions, questions and comments. In the latter, on the first post of the account @TeamBundeskanzler, users are asked several times to make kebab cheaper.
Scholz himself doesn’t have a say in the first TikTok, but can be seen briefly in the comedic clip. On the rival service X, the Chancellor is in the mood for jokes: “I don’t dance. I promise.
At the end of February, Scholz had already spoken out in favor of the government being represented on TikTok in the future. The social media platform of the Chinese company ByteDance, which is popular with users, is considered controversial in politics due to data protection concerns.
The new Chancellor account may be intended as a step to stand up to the AfD on social media. According to media reports, it often has significantly more reach there than the other parties, including on TikTok. In February, “ZDFheute” published corresponding figures from political consultant Johannes Hillje, former campaign manager for the Greens. “Other parties not only leave individual platforms like TikTok to the AfD, but also the political emotions in the country,” said the freelance consultant.
