Even if the coronation of Charles III. dominates the headlines today and Böhmermann’s show even has the “Royale” as part of its name: the new king only played a tiny role in yesterday’s show at the start. Instead, Böhmermann’s team had chosen another target: the German arms industry. And, we can tell you this much: the episode once again had political consequences.
Americans’ fascination with guns and their normality in everyday life in the US is often difficult for Germans to understand. You can even buy firearms in the supermarket, Böhmermann shows. “Long guns in the glass case. The sharpest things we have to put behind glass at Penny are the Wilkonson Sword Hydro Protection blades in a pack of four and the good Jim Beam for 12.99.” So at least today. There used to be guns from the Quelle catalogue, as Böhmermann shows with a smirk.
Anyone who suspects that the arms crisis is only on the other side of the Atlantic will be quickly brought back to earth by “Magazine Royale”. Whether in marital disputes, noise pollution from the neighbors or most recently in the brutal multiple murders in a Jehovah’s Witnesses church in Hamburg: In Germany, too, there are repeated incidents in which one of the one million legal gun owners in the country takes up arms. “Could it be that we in Germany aren’t doing really well when it comes to firearms,” Böhmermann soon asked himself.
How unfamiliar Germans are with firearms becomes clear when Böhmermann simply lists four companies whose names everyone has probably heard before. Glock, Walther, Heckler
And they also play big internationally. Glock and Sig Sauer are among the four largest manufacturers of handguns there, and Sig Sauer has even set itself the goal of becoming number 1 in the American arms market, a lawyer for the group explains in a video. The context of the clip is quite remarkable: the brand had to pay a hefty fine for illegally selling over a million guns to Colombia via the United States, as Böhmermann points out.
“If the strict gun laws are annoying here at home, just get out of Germany and into the US-of-A., Land of the Free,” the moderator sums up the attitude. The company would also do a lot of lobbying there. Sig Sauer would also be one of the major donors to the “Friends of NRA”. “And you won’t believe it, but the Friends of NRA are close friends of the – NRA.” So the powerful gun lobby in the USA, which is considered the biggest brake on stricter gun regulations. And Glock also donated diligently there.
The gun manufacturers in their home country and their largest market also differ greatly in terms of advertising. While Walter, Glock and Co. present themselves in Germany with nice marksmen and a climate-conscious attitude, US advertising is much more martial. You always have to be ready, they whisper there, with discount campaigns, the two free magazines are advertised when you buy a gun. “German and Austrian weapons companies present themselves to us as eco-friendly. But in the USA they say quite openly: We want people to shoot. And we want everyone to shoot at everyone.”
The consequences can be seen in everyday US life. According to research by “Magazine Royale” and “Tagesspiegel”, weapons made by German manufacturers have been used in almost half of the deadly mass shootings in recent years. For example, the perpetrator of the notorious attack on the Sandy Hook elementary school, which cost the lives of 20 children and seven adults, also had a Sig Sauer and a Glock in his luggage. “Best regards to Eckernförde and Carinthia,” summarizes Böhmermann with the headquarters of the two companies. “Bad for the people in the US, good for the balance sheets in Austria and Germany.”
“Where are the Greens with their ban policy?”; Böhmermann asks pointedly. “Oh yes, I know where: At the German Pavilion.” Because at the Shot Show, the largest arms fair in the USA, the German manufacturers have their own large stand – co-financed by the German Ministry of Economic Affairs. “Guided with a great deal of sensitivity by the sharpest shotgun in Olaf Scholz’s gun cabinet,” the moderator grins at a picture of the Green Economics Minister Robert Habeck. “Every look is a graze straight to the heart.”
In fact, the demand from “Magazine Royale” now has consequences: the ministry thanked them for the demand – and canceled its support for German manufacturers for the trade fair next year, as reported by “Spiegel”. “But I’ll go there anyway, maybe I’ll meet someone,” Böhmermann grins. And shoots one last time with the alarm pistol that has been waved around throughout the show. Peng, that was on.
Quelle: ZDF Magazine Royale
