After a two-year break from the pandemic, the court of fools met again. FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki was accused. In his defense speech he is self-deprecating. But he got the most laughs from jokes at the expense of others.
Stockach (dpa / lsw) - Sexist behavior, schemers, regicide and endangering the political culture: The allegations of the Stockach Fool's Court against FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki were tough. The Northern Lights from Schleswig-Holstein took it easy and allowed themselves to be fooled into running in a suit and tie. The lawyer skillfully defended himself in front of a full hall in Stockach (district of Konstanz) on Thursday evening - and earned a lot of laughs.
It wasn't easy for him to come to Stockach, says Kubicki. "I wanted to come by train - I was advised against it." The fleet of the FDP is somewhat thinned out. "We only have Porsches and tanks." And he rejected Friedrich Merz's (CDU) offer to take his plane. In the end, it became a scheduled flight to Zurich. He was denied an interpreter, but after a certain amount of wine everyone would speak the same language anyway.
The accusations of sexism against him would knock the bottom out, said Kubicki. "If I look at the court of fools - not a single woman in the quorum." That has to change, he demanded. When it comes to women, it's what's on the inside that counts anyway. And as a man who is married in his third marriage, he cannot afford another divorce either, said the 70-year-old. "Three times marriage shows: You never stop learning."
In addition to self-deprecating remarks, Kubicki also scored with biting tones towards the Greens - for example with a comment about the stylist of Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, which cost the citizens many thousands of euros. "If we inadvertently declare war on Russia, then at least do it well." Incidentally, he paid for his visit to the hairdresser himself.
And the state government in Baden-Württemberg also got its fat off. With a view to the imminent legalization and cultivation of cannabis, Kubicki said: "Anyone who calls their country "The Länd" must have tried it." The politician emphasized that he had always acted in accordance with the law within the scope of his possibilities. "No one can expect more." Before the court of fools he demanded his acquittal.
Carnival judge Jürgen Koterzyna was merciful and only accused Kubicki of endangering the political culture. He would simply exercise his right to free speech too often. The court of fools sentenced the Bundestag Vice President to 210 liters of criminal wine, oysters and champagne - and to a return to Lake Constance: Because Kubicki is also allowed to perform as a dancer at a Stockacher ladies' group. The "convict" accepted the verdict.
The more than 600-year-old tradition of the fool's court in Stockach is one of the highlights of the Swabian-Alemannic carnival in Baden-Württemberg. According to legend, it goes back to the court jester Hans Kuony of the Habsburg Duke Leopold I. In 1351, as thanks for his advice, he received the privilege of being able to hold a fool's court every year.
Franz Josef Strauss (CSU), Guido Westerwelle (FDP) and Angela Merkel (CDU) were already in the dock of the institution. In the past few years, the negotiations had been paused due to the corona. The "trial" always takes place at the "Schmotzigen Dunschtig".
On the day known nationwide as Altweiberfastnacht, the Swabian-Alemannic carnival picked up speed again. In numerous towns and communities, especially on Lake Constance and in Upper Swabia, the hustle and bustle heralded the hot phase of the carnival. School exemptions, making fools of trees and parades were on the program until late in the evening.
For the fools in the southwest, the holiday is called "Schmotziger Dunschtig" or "Gumpiger" Thursday. But the expression has nothing to do with dirt: it comes from the Alemannic word for fat or lard ("Schmotz"). "On this day is the beginning of eating fat carnival dishes and increasing other merrymaking," says the glossary of the Association of Swabian-Alemannic Fools' Guilds, for example.
The biggest parades in the Ländle are on Shrove Monday. The whole spectacle ends on Ash Wednesday and the Häs - as the fool's costume is also called - disappears into the closet until next year.
