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Saxony-Anhalt's Minister of Education Jan Riedel (CDU) Just Doesn't Get ItSaxony-Anhalt's Minister of Education Jan Riedel (CDU) lashes out against "right-wing online portals," TikTok, and "far-right slogans" allegedly spread by children—thereby exposing the political establishment's complete denial of reality. Consensus is not the lubricant of democracy. Germany's public broadcasters have themselves fueled polarization. Of all people, this is the man who now wants to lecture others on morality after enforcing a hardline COVID policy in schools. Dear Community, What WELT reports about recent statements made by Saxony-Anhalt's Minister of Education Jan Riedel (based on a dpa news agency report that was also published by ZEIT) illustrates, perhaps better than anything else, the sheer extent to which Germany's political establishment has become detached from reality. I will address Jan Riedel's statements, insofar as they are reflected in the article, one by one: Statement 1: "We are hardly able to reach people in Saxony-Anhalt through the traditional media landscape anymore. Many only watch TikTok and right-wing online portals and read the tabloid press."Could it perhaps be that this alleged "media diversity" no longer deserves that name because the mainstream media too often offers little more than government-friendly uniformity? That people have grown tired of being spoon-fed what to think because they increasingly realize that essential information is being withheld from them? That an enlightened society cannot indefinitely be forced into the straitjacket of a politically and media-imposed corridor of acceptable opinion, where anyone who dares to step outside it is branded, depending on the issue, a COVID denier, anti-vaxxer, climate denier, Putin apologist, anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist, or whatever other label happens to be convenient? That where people once sought and found information, they now all too often find propaganda—and have simply had enough of it? And in any case, what exactly does Jan Riedel mean by "right-wing online portals"? We have become accustomed to the labels "right-wing" and "Nazi" being attached with remarkable speed to anyone who dares express opinions outside the officially sanctioned spectrum of debate. This development was already evident during the 2015 refugee crisis and reached particularly disturbing proportions during the COVID era. Since then, the situation has not improved—in fact, it has become even worse. Statement 2: "Consensus and compromise are viewed as signs of weakness and held in contempt. Yet they are the lubricant of democracy."You're mistaken, Mr. Riedel! The true lubricant of democracy is DISSENT! Democracy thrives when differing opinions meet as fundamentally equal and then engage in vigorous debate over facts and arguments. That is precisely what has been lost. In the logic of today's political and media gatekeepers, on issues such as COVID, climate policy, or Ukraine, there is only the "good" opinion (the one that aligns with the government) and the "bad" opinion (the one that criticizes it). Such thinking is fundamentally flawed. In any democracy worthy of the name, dissent is not something to suppress—it is something to allow and welcome. Out of dissent, compromise may ultimately emerge. And yes, the media fail in their mission when they sensationalize every internal disagreement within a political party or governing coalition as "infighting" or "chaos." But they fail even more profoundly when, in pursuit of a merely superficial consensus, they attempt to eliminate every opinion they deem undesirable from public discourse. Independent thinking cannot be stopped. If it is denied a hearing in the traditional media, it will find other outlets. Even if that means TikTok. Whatever one may think of TikTok, unregulated media consumption is still preferable to a politically and media-controlled Ministry of Truth. Statement 3: "When citizens consume only information that confirms what they already believe and isolate themselves from democratic debate, we will end up with an educational problem."The growing fragmentation of public debate can certainly be described as a troubling development. But it is the direct consequence of excluding "undesirable" opinions from the public discourse. Incidentally, the problem of people consuming only media that tells them what they want to hear does not exist solely among those who have lost trust in the traditional media. It exists just as much among those who continue to trust those outlets while dismissing new media platforms out of hand. In fact, it ought to be the mission of Germany's public broadcasting system to counteract this fragmentation. Yet it is precisely the publicly funded, government-aligned "advocacy journalism" that has significantly fueled the very development Jan Riedel now laments. Statement 4: "Even children are spreading far-right slogans. Teachers who properly intervene are increasingly coming under pressure, especially from parents."Once again, Jan Riedel fails to explain what he actually means by "far-right slogans." That would have been important because the term "far-right" has lost virtually all meaningful definition through the constant branding of government critics as being on the political right. How, for example, does Jan Riedel assess the public statements made by Saxony-Anhalt's Minister-President Sven Schulze following the attack at Berlin's Christopher Street Day parade? Jan Riedel has served as Saxony-Anhalt's Minister of Education since 2025. Before that, he was principal of the Lyonel Feininger Gymnasium in Halle (Saale). In that role, as can still be verified online today— https://feininger-gymnasium.de/corona/—he rigorously enforced the COVID measures during the pandemic. Had I been a student in Saxony-Anhalt at the time, subjected for years to testing and mask mandates, and had I since reached voting age, I cannot say which party I would vote for in the state election on September 6, 2026. But I do know one thing with absolute certainty: I would never cast my vote for any of the parties responsible for the COVID restrictions. At the ballot box, I would do my part to ensure that Jan Riedel loses his position as Minister of Education. Because he went along with it then—and he would do so again today. The educational damage caused by school policies during the COVID era is far greater than the educational problem Jan Riedel fears as a consequence of one-sided media consumption. Kind regards, Yours sincerely, Martin Schwab
Author: AI-Translation - Martin Schwab | |
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