Ahead of what could be a "hot fall," Germans are vacillating between prophylaxis against disappointment and invocation of normality. Stephan Grünewald, among others, talks about the state of mind of an insecure people in the ZEIT podcast "Das Politikteil.
The podcast appeared on ZEIT Online on September 16.
Riots, riots, burning barricades? Politicians and the media are warning of a "hot autumn", of resentment over rising prices, unaffordable gas bills, cold living rooms and condescending tips on how to save money (washcloths instead of showers) turning into anger at "those at the top" - with unpleasant consequences. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) fears a "growing contempt for democracy", while Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is already talking of "popular uprisings". Is this scaremongering or justified concern? Will the republic soon be gripped by a wave of protest like the one France experienced a few years ago with the yellow vest riots?
In the new episode of Das Politikteil, we talk to psychologist and market researcher Stephan Grünewald about the mental state of Germans. The co-founder of the market research institute Rheingold has just presented a recent study on how the agglomeration of war, Corona, climate and energy crises affects the collective state of mind of Germans, what they fear in the late summer of 2022, what they wish for and how much revolutionary spirit they have in them.
Cologne-based psychologist Stephan Grünewald is the founder of the market and media research institute rheingold. Grünewald became a bestselling author with his books "Deutschland auf der Couch" (2006) and "Die erschöpfte Gesellschaft" (2013) as well as "Wie tickt Deutschland" (2019).
Phone: +49 221-466 828 0
E-mail: gruenewald@rheingold-online.de
