Merkel’s apology to rock star Campino, is one of the most surprising revelations taken from the singer’s autobiography that will be released on Friday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel surprised German rock star, Campino, when she called to offer an apology for using one of his songs at an election night rally in September 2013.
This piece of information appears in Campino’s new book, “Die Toten Hosen. Am Anfang war der Lärm” (Die Toten Hosen. At the beginning of the noise), written by Philipp Oehmke, who is an editor for SPIEGEL, a media giant in Germany. Excerpts of the autobiography were shared in Sunday’s edition of the paper.
The part written about Merkel has gone viral, proving that after close to 10 years in power in her country, the influential leader still has few tricks up her sleeve. Campino, the lead singer of German punk rock band, Die Toten Hosen (The Dead Beats), whose real name is Andreas Frege, is at age 52, one of the most respected and beloved music stars in the European nation.
Campino had asked that his music not be used at campaign events, but never said anything about election night parties, and Merkel’s side CDU (Christian Democratic Union) jumped on the opportunity for their big celebration.
The song selected was “Tage wie diese,” a hugely popular German rock anthem that can be translated as “Days Like These.” Merkel and her colleagues could be seen singing and clapping to the track on victory night, but social media and fans were not thrilled.
People took to Facebook and Twitter to blast Merkel’s appropriation of the song. Four days later, the chancellor picked up her phone and called Campino to apologize. Here is what she told him:
“Dear Mr Campino, I’m calling because we trampled all over your song on election night. Don’t worry: it’s not going to be the next CDU anthem. But it’s a beautiful song that you’ve written.”
Merkel also stated:
“We stopped playing your song at campaign rallies after your objections. But you also said in general you had nothing against playing the song at victory celebrations.”
Merkel’s apology to Campino created different emotions for the rock star. It was mixture of honor and shock. He explained:
“It was a mixture of surprise and horror. Horror that she didn’t have anything else to do except call me. But also touched that she explained all that in such a relaxed and humorous way.”
Some will say that all of this could have been avoided if campaign operatives did a better job at screening their playlist. Others will applaud Merkel’s mastery of the political game. Campino was probably not a big fan of her politics, but she approached him anyway with a lot of charm and humor.
What are your thoughts on Merkel’s apology to rock star Campino?
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