Hungarian news and opinion portal Mandiner conducted an in-depth interview with Nico Semsrott, one of the two MEPs of the German Die PARTEI satirical party, which has doubled its number of representatives to two at the European elections this May.
Die PARTEI, where “partei” means both party in German and is an acronym for Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative, was established in 2004 by Martin Sonneborn, former editor-in-chief of satirical magazine Titanic. He is also the other MEP of Die PARTEI.
The party’s platform includes points such as rebuilding the Berlin Wall and re-establishing the Iron Curtain, thus making East Germany a Special Economic Zone as well as waging a war of aggression against Liechtenstein in order to force democratization and abolish serfdom. The party also wants to change the first article of the German Constitution (“Human dignity is inviolable”) to ensure CEOs of certain TV channels would not possess human dignity.
The 33-year-old Semsrott, wearing his trademark black hoodie, told Mandiner that if one enters the search term “to fail” in YouTube (“scheitern” in German), he will be the first entry.
“I am a de-motivational trainer by trade. I went into politics because the European Union is in a deep crisis and so am I,” he said.
He also said that the simple fact that so many people voted for his party is a sign of his country’s affluence.
“I think that satire is ultimately a measure of decadence, whether one can afford such an approach. If a nation’s affairs are in disarray, it will not even think of such things in the first place. This is a luxury more suited for a wealthy country.”
Semsrott said that unlike his party’s other MEP, Sonneborn, who votes alternatively with yes and no in subsequent issues, he follows the cues of the Green Party. He also says that his political credo includes fighting for the equality of all kinds of stupidity.
“We are all human, so we are stupid. We only have to be aware of our own stupidity so as to not cause harm to others,” Semsrott said in the interview.
Die PARTEI also promises a “modern” version of politics, which in the party’s interpretation, means that they will ask for popular opinion on important issues and, once in power, will do something completely different.
Title image: Die PARTEI MEP for Germany Nico Semsrott (Facebook)
