Journalist Ulf Poschardt has offered specific aesthetic advice to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), suggesting he undergo a visual transformation. Responding to the question of whether Merz should shave off his distinctive hairline, Poschardt emphatically stated: “Yes. Definitely. I don’t understand it. Just get rid of it.” He believes that a clean, flawless bald head is the answer, and that shaving it would be a simple, undeniable truth. He suggested Merz could transform into a “Jason Statham of the conservatives.”
Beyond Merz, Poschardt applied psychological scrutiny to the appearance of other key politicians. He labeled AfD Chair Alice Weidel and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as “tank women.” Regarding Weidel, he described her clothing as resembling a heavy armored vehicle-the thickest armor in German politics. He found her style to be “bourgeois, rigid, and uncharismatic,” noting that the sheer mass of her presentation led him to sometimes wonder if a sensitive spirit could hide beneath it, possibly as a reaction to the “incredible hatred” directed at her.
A similar verdict was delivered regarding von der Leyen. Poschardt suggested that her hairstyle symbolized her ambitions, viewing it as an “ambition steel helmet of hair.” Concerning her wardrobe, he drew a direct parallel to Weidel’s, calling both women “tank women.” He expressed a regret that women who wish to succeed feel the need to “armor themselves” so heavily.
Shifting focus to men’s grooming, Poschardt expressed approval for Christian Lindner’s hair transplant, praising his openness about the procedure. He views Lindner’s cosmetic surgery through the same lens as women’s beauty operations. While acknowledging that such processes mean constant maintenance-likening a face to a car that requires continuous service-he supports hair transplants if they are successful.
He offered high praise for the modern, if idiosyncratic, styles of Markus Söder (CSU) and Lars Klingbeil (SPD), asserting that both represent “the German man as a natural force that transcends classic beauty ideals.”
Most enthusiastic was his description of FDP leader Wolfgang Kubicki. Poschardt praised his appearance as “Super style. That is simply perfect-the suits and the swagger and the haircut and always this enthusiasm.” Describing Kubicki vividly as being “brown burned from the Baltic Sea, combined with the red face from high blood pressure,” he concluded, “I find him great. As a person, he is a real presence.”
