Germany: Angela Merkel’s Speech on Coronavirus Honored as “Speech of the Year” | News | DW

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech on March 18 calling on Germans to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously was chosen as the “Speech of the Year” for 2020 by a panel of rhetoric experts.

A panel from the University of Tübingen said in a statement that in her televised speech, “Merkel impressively demonstrates […] how reason, aided by rhetoric, can spur action; and how good rhetoric can foster community feeling and cohesion. “

He said the “historic” speech was of utmost importance to the successful management of the first wave of the pandemic. “This televised speech probably directly influenced the German population in a way that almost no other speech in recent years has,” the experts said.

The panel said Merkel drew on all the rhetorical registers of her speech. “The speech is clearly written and well structured […] and uses repetitions and variations of central ideas to create a sense of urgency, ”he said.

International fame

Merkel’s speech has been compared favorably to those made by other European leaders on the pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, had tended to “authoritarian statements and a radical wartime image” in his first speech on the subject, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson downplayed the dangers, a- he declared.

Merkel, on the other hand, had used language to communicate objective information and present a scientifically sound case, experts said.

Merkel’s March 18 speech, which many considered to reflect the Chancellor’s scientific background, received much acclaim and recognition around the world. Its central theme was summed up in two sentences: “So let me say this is serious. Please take this seriously as well.”