The Chancellor's tank pose is as calculated as it is revealing

In the world of Harry Potter there is the Mirror of Erised: the reflection shows the viewer his deepest desire. There is also a portion of Erised in Olaf Scholz's most recent photos at the Putlos military training area, where Ukrainian soldiers are being trained on German military equipment: the chancellor nimbly climbs into a Cheetah tank, poses next to the gun barrel and affirms his support for Ukraine - arms deliveries included.

These images from Putlos are as calculated as they are revealing. They reflect how Scholz wishes to be seen: as a doer, as a leader, as a leader. Everything that the citizens apparently do not see in him, as the poor polls for Scholz and his government work show.

Chancellor Scholz is in Magdeburg for the public dialogue. There were protests again. "There are many who have problems with inflation, but also 'professional demonstrators'," says WELT reporter Lutz Stordel, who follows the event.

Staging is now part of the political business, just remember the selfie by Annalena Baerbock, Robert Habeck, Christian Lindner and Volker Wissing, which was supposed to herald a new political style at the beginning of the coalition negotiations - and actually caught the public eye. Pictures create atmosphere, and of course politicians can take advantage of that.

However, Scholz had recently declared: "I will not join a group of people who do something for a short walk in and out with a photo shoot," was the Chancellor's oft-repeated explanation of why he was not traveling to Ukraine. although almost every important head of government and even moderately important opposition politicians had already visited Kyiv. Later, in mid-June, Scholz did the same.

Putlos is not Kyiv, but the visit to the military training area was nothing more than an “in and out” for a photo shoot, to use the words of Olaf Scholz. You can also simply call it a pair of text-image scissors.