The briefcases stacked on Ronald Rauhe's desk in the Federal Chancellery easily serve as an excuse. “I haven’t had the time yet,” says the new State Minister for Sport and Volunteering when asked about the empty shelf behind him. There are two padel rackets leaning on the top shelf, and a few books one floor below, including “The Olympic Games,” a volume of the children's book series “What is what” from 1996. It still belongs to his predecessor, says Rauhe.
He could use it much better in his new role than Christiane Schenderlein, who was transferred to the Ministry of Health. The 45-year-old is supposed to help ensure that the German application is successfully completed and that the major event takes place in Germany for the first time since 1972.
WELT AM SONNTAG: When the Chancellor introduced you on September 3rd, you mentioned the return of national pride as a topic close to your heart, alongside the Olympics and elite sports reform. Why is this so important to you?
Ronald Rauhe: We want to make competitive sports in Germany more successful again and bring the Olympic Games back to Germany. These are my clear goals. This also means that we allow ourselves to be positively patriotic again. For me, that is something that is ultimately reflected in performance. When I travel for my country, I want to do so with pride and motivation, and wear the eagle with joy. The way we see ourselves as athletes in Germany and, conversely, how we see athletes is something that concerns me a lot.
WAMS: Do you have the impression that something needs to change? Are there too many athletes who don't care?
Rauhe: No, that's not it. I don't think you can reduce it to sport at all. Even if we wanted it, it is still a social issue that includes sport. As an athlete, when I am aware of why I am here and who I represent, it does something to me. Let us be proud of our achievements and our country again.
WAMS: More performance through patriotism?
Rauhe: No, it's about your own attitude. Personally, as an active person, it has always helped me to start with a certain mindset. That I knew that the people were behind me and also the country that I was representing here. And that is part of the theme of positive patriotism on both sides: being proud of the people who represent us to the outside world, but in turn also being proud to be able to represent them. We're always a bit cautious. And that inhibits.
WAMS: Are you mad at Jürgen Klopp?
Rauhe: Why?
WAMS: In his first media conference as national soccer coach, he called for “positive patriotism.” The speech dominated the headlines. But someone else has the copyright, right?
Rauhe (laughs): I used this term many years ago in a WELT interview. That should have been 2022. We were actually laughing about it here on the team recently. But quite the opposite: Of course I'm happy that Jürgen Klopp says that. We're all about the same thing. This statement should be made as often as possible. That's why I'm very grateful to him. In fact, I have quoted him several times now.
WAMS: The author is taking advantage of plagiarism in the spirit of the matter?
Rauhe: It's positive that a person who is so much in the spotlight chooses the same words and conveys these thoughts to the outside world. He is a person who has the strength to add courage to his words. And he finds access to many people. It would be more difficult for someone in politics to say the sentence with the same effect.
WAMS: You're in politics now. Does Jürgen Klopp have more power than you to change something with a sentence like that?
Rauhe: That's not the point. Jürgen Klopp is certainly better known to the majority than I am. And he is a role model for many. No question. Especially in view of the office that I am now allowed to hold, I too have a certain charisma. But the question I ask myself is not: Who has more power? But rather: How can we bundle our ideas together so that we convince as many people as possible? And if it becomes a team made up of people who have power in different areas, then I would prefer that these people somehow move together and maybe even develop a common plan.
WAMS: Maybe you two should sit down together sometime?
Rauhe: We should like to do that. But first there is an exchange with the DFB on the sidelines of the Nations League game against the Netherlands.
WAMS: Why is it that Germans are so clumsy when it comes to patriotism?
Rauhe: That is certainly also due to our history.
WAMS: Didn't we already find a healthy path in 2006, during and after the World Cup?
Rauhe: Short term. I think the issue festers in the subconscious of our society. I don't think it comes from history alone either. The current political situation certainly also plays a role. That's why it's very clear here again: we're talking about positive patriotism here. If I agree with my country and its values based on the basic democratic order, then I should be allowed to show that.
WAMS: Isn't it bad that it's obviously not obvious and unsuspicious to show that?
Rauhe: Patriotism is also exploited for other purposes. And my wish is that we as a society fight against this appropriation. I'm all about positive values. About community. About democracy.
WAMS: Where there is a large German flag flying in the garden, prejudices quickly arise. Possibly rightly so.
Rauhe: I would warn against such a blanket judgment. But: I want to make a clear restriction: You should already know why the flag is flying in the garden. That's the key. Not just showing, but also explaining. Our colors stand for democratic values and our shared responsibility for the country. Our society must grow together again based on these values and think forward. We don’t always manage to do this – especially in difficult times.
WAMS: Which doesn't make it any easier.
Rauhe: Yes. But the question is how we can cure it.
WAMS: A nice verb.
Rauhe: And here we are at the Olympic Games. They are not just a sporting event that lasts two weeks plus two weeks of the Paralympic Games, but in the best case scenario they have an impact ten years before and 20 years after the event. At least. Above all, the Olympic Games have the power to connect people. I therefore hope that we can also heal ourselves. That we as a German society can tackle something together again, strive for a common goal and that we have the confidence to achieve something great with this direction. And if we manage to bring these games to Germany, then we can be happy about it. About our performance, but also about having the world as our guests in our country, to perhaps show ourselves who we are today - and to show the world that we are a different Germany than some people may still have in their minds.
WAMS: Who are we then?
Rauhe: Above all, we are a society that is doing well and that is very open and tolerant. We just don't show it often enough anymore. We should have some confidence in ourselves again. We always only look at what doesn't work instead of recognizing how good we have it. And that brings me back to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Bringing them to Germany would develop a power that we cannot yet grasp ourselves.
WAMS: Does the nagging attitude in our society annoy you?
Rauhe: The more I get around the world, the greater I think our country is. Because you notice how well we are actually doing. And how beautiful our country can be. And that's what bothers me, yes. It's said so often that things don't work. We should emphasize the positive things more. Also in sports.
WAMS: What do you mean?
Rauhe: We have far too many great athletes, such as medal winners at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, who are invisible to the general population. We have to have more courage to create heroines and heroes and put successful athletes on a pedestal. This is something I definitely want to implement in my new position. For example, if I see the fence of the Federal Chancellery through the window: Why shouldn't a banner with all the faces of the German medal winners hang there? There are hundreds, thousands of building plans on houses in Berlin. That's a lot of white space.
WAMS: Printing them costs money.
Rauhe: Yes. No question. But it's not just politics that's important, but also the economy. We all have to learn to use such opportunities as opportunities for ourselves. The economy is also noticing that it is finding fewer and fewer employees. It can help to show that performance is worth it. Because I can't always just say: This and that isn't working, but I don't take responsibility myself.
WAMS: Mr. Rauhe, if Germany were an athlete, how would you describe its condition? He has potential, right?
Rauhe: And he has talent too. He would be a long jumper. He is someone who knows how far he can jump. And the long jumpers, before they start jumping, always take two steps backwards to get a running start. That's where we are right now. We're just getting started.
WAMS: But he has a slight strain, right? It's a bit cold too.
Rough: hardening of the thigh. Maybe he doesn't dare to do that yet. Maybe he's just coming back from an injury. But after the first jumps he will notice again that it goes far.
When Lutz Wöckener isn't trying out some sport on his own, he writes about darts and sports politics, but sometimes also something unusual like football.
