Controversy arises around “Tagesschau” anchor Constantin Schreiber (41).
Did the news anchor of the popular German news programme take aim at the Berlin Social Democratic Party (SPD) politician Sawsan Chebli (42) and her Palestinian roots in his novel “The Candidate” in order to write a “reactionary manifesto” against leftists and Muslims?
At least, that is how the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) puts it in a feature article. Schreiber has written “a novel full of enemy images” in which a Muslim politician wants to become chancellor so that Muslims and “diverse” people can finally live in Germany with equal rights. The SZ insinuates that Schreiber wants to “stir up fear of Islam”.
Schreiber, an expert on the Middle East (he has lived in Syria, among other places, and speaks fluent Arabic), rejects the accusation. And: His novel characters are all fictitious!
BUT: His “candidate Sabah Hussein” is actually the same age as Chebli, is a Muslim from Lebanon, wears “expensive dresses, gold bracelets”, is denigrated in hate comments as a “political Aische” and “Islam-Barbie” – all similar to the Social Democratic Party (SPD) politician!
Neither the author nor Chebli wanted to comment on these parallels when asked by the newspaper BILD on Thursday.
One thing is for sure: despite some stylistic bumps, Schreiber paints an exciting, cautionary picture of a republic that surrenders to the spirit of the times.