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Trump and Putin take centre stage at Germany’s Rose Monday parades

The 'Rosenmontag' processions aim for the heart of what is going wrong in the world with satirical floats. This year Trump and Putin were among the parade’s main attractions.

Published: 12 February 2024 17:26 CET

karneval float of Vladimir Putin with AfD leader

Carnival float depicts Russian President Vladimir Putin with AfD leader Alice Weidel and Sahra Wagenknecht. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Arne Dedert

In the carnival strongholds of Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz, parade routes were lined with hundreds of thousands of costumed revellers for the Rose Monday processions.

In Cologne, the first spectators had already gathered in the city centre at dark, several hours before the start of the “Zoch” to secure good seats.

Düsseldorf wagon builder Jacques Tilly delivered the most brutal and expressive wagons – among them Russia’s President Vladimir Putin allows himself to be orally satisfied by Church Patriarch Kirill, and Donald Trump holds a US flag carved into the shape of a swastika.

Trump float at Carnival

Trump holds a US flag carved into a swastika at Carnival. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Federico Gambarini

Tilly told the DPA that with his motif to Putin, he wanted to denounce the joint responsibility of the Russian Orthodox Church for the war of aggression against Ukraine. “The cooperation between the state and the church is, of course, disastrous. Kirill creates, so to speak, the ideological background for the war.”

About his portrayal of Trump with a swastika motif, Tilly said: “If this man gets the trigger again, he will seek revenge across the country and probably damage American democracy beyond recognition. That’s totalitarian, and that’s why this comparison isn’t far off, I think.”

On the subject of the far-right AfD, Tilly opted for a clown who takes off the AfD’s friendly mask, and behind it a skull appears.

A clown strips the AfD of it’s friendly mask at Carnival. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Federico Gambarini

In the Cologne procession, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was seen on a float as a sloth in a hammock and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as an elephant in a china shop.

In Mainz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck was portrayed as Flying Robert, who is losing his grip on the ground with his heating law. (Flying Robert is a character from a German children’s story in which a boy goes outside during a storm, and the wind catching his umbrella sends him flying away.)

Robert Habeck as flying Robert.

Robert Habeck as flying Robert at Carnival. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Arne Dedert

AfD leader Alice Weidel and Sahra Wagenknecht, founder of the newly-formed Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, were chauffeured as Barbies by Putin with bloody hands in a pink convertible.

North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst of the CDU walked along the Cologne train. He said that Carnival is diversity in action and that, incidentally, it is beneficial to have “a little fun” from time to time.

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Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.