German MP sparks 'fremdscham' with cringeworthy slang-filled TikTok

A German MP has sparked a nationwide wave of cringe after posting a TikTok video filled with Gen-Z slang in a ham-fisted attempt to explain the virtues of the Bundestag. 

Free Democratic Party (FDP) MP Christian Dürr, 47, last week posted the video to the social media site, in which he praised his 'OG' cabinet members for 'maintaining the vibes' with 'mad energy.'

The viral video was heavily mocked by many online, with one commentator saying it defined 'fremdscham', the German word for second-hand embarrassment. 

Dürr said in the TikTok, captioned 'POV: Gen-Z wrote the script': 'Welcome to the Bundestag. Here's where the real tea happens. And not lowkey but full power.

Pointing at the Bundestag's main antechamber, he said: 'That's where all the MPs sit. They are, so to speak, the squad goals of politics. 

'Slay!' 

Referring to a photo of several cabinet minister, including justice minister Marco Buschmann, finance minister Christian Lindner, education and research minister Bettiner Starkwatzinger and transport minister Volker Wissing, Dürr said: 'This here is the cabinet. They are basically the OGs who are trying to maintain the vibes. 

'The opposition? Mad. Because they can never top their energy.

'Here is your boy, OG Christian Lindner, no cap - Pop off king! His speeches are pure slay. 

'On the desk he delivers, lit AF. Every request is on point. He understood the assignment. And when he talks: immaculate vibes. 

'His suit is drippy AF - chef's kiss.

Standing next to a tray full of sausages, he says: 'And here, people, is the spot if you're really hangry.'

'The bockwurst here hits different. Trust me. After a long day, it's a gamechanger. 

'Joking aside, in the end, it's all about the future. We decide on stuff that is super important - No cap. People of the Bundestag have vibes you have to feel.'  

The FDP said the video was an attempt to bring Gen-Z back from far-right and extreme parties, who have largely taken hold of the internet with their narratives. 

AfD, a pro-Putin and extremely right-wing political party, has flooded the internet with carefully crafted videos designed to stoke anger, particularly at migrants. 

According to a study by the University of Potsdam, videos posted to TikTok by AfD is seen twice as often by first time voters than videos put out by all other parties combined. 

And given that FPD got just 7% of votes from those under-25 at the recent European parliament elections, after taking 23% in the last general election in 2021, the rise of the far-right on TikTok is worrying many in Germany.  

In June, the Anne Frank Educational Centre warned that democratic parties were losing the battle against extremists on TikTok for young voters. 

Johannes Hillje, a political consultant, told the Guardian that the AfD had been a TikTok 'first mover... with a whole army of digital supporters boosting its reach' and youthful staffers tailoring the message.

'There's no platform where the competition for attention is so intense as on TikTok. You need an emotional hook. Politicians don't have to dance or imitate youth slang but they need to tap into the issues, interests, aesthetic and communication habits of young people.'

Sascha Lobo, one of Germany's leading commentators on technology and politics, called the AfD's success on TikTok only a 'symptom' of a deeper malaise since the coronavirus pandemic.

'Many young people feel that politicians don't take them seriously or ignore their needs – with catastrophic consequences,' he said in a column for Spiegel magazine.

'If you feel betrayed by all the big parties and the governments of past years, so much that you want revenge, then there's one party whose voters are seen by all the others as a kick in the arse.'