Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) talk during a debate in the Bundestag.

BERLIN 20.03.2024

Kay Nietfeld
Deputy photo coordinator for federal politics,
Central Editorial Office Berlin

This photo was taken in the Bundestag on March 20, 2024, after the government statement by then Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the upcoming European Union summit that would focus on the issue of the war in Ukraine. While the debate continued in the plenary session, Olaf Scholz and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner sought a brief, confidential conversation away from the public eye. Behind a free-standing partition wall, shielded from the gaze of the members of the Bundestag, the chancellor and his minister talked to each other. 

What makes this photo special? The wide-angle shot shows the two politicians as quite small, yet clearly recognisable behind the large partition wall, but still as part of the Bundestag plenary session. A rare moment in the midst of the political stage. Following Lindner’s dismissal by the chancellor and the subsequent collapse of the governing coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP), this photo took on even greater significance for the political year 2024. The image was awarded the Rückblende Photo Prize for the best photo depicting federal politics.