Politicians like Wagenknecht and Trump define people as victims of bad politics and portray themselves as saviors.
Loves to portray herself as a savior – Sahra Wagenknecht, recently compared to Queen Nefertiti Photo: Lisa Johansen/Reuters
I recently saw a photo of politician Sahra Wagenknecht in profile next to a bust of Egyptian queen Nefertiti. As the accompanying book puts it, Wagenknecht’s “stoic serenity” hour– Knight, always remember Nefertiti, the powerful ruler of ancient Egypt. When I saw this picture, I thought, ‘The archetype of the savior is so powerful that it is now being projected onto a rather ordinary politician like Sahra Wagenknecht.’ Germany is looking for a savior.
The figure of the savior is found everywhere: in personal relationships, in the office, in partnerships, and especially in politics. But this figure never exists alone. She is inextricably linked to two other figures: the victim and the perpetrator. In short, the victim needs a savior, and the perpetrator is the bad guy. The triangle constellation is everywhere. For example, the triangle used by Sahra Wagenknecht is as follows: The victims are “those” people in Germany, and the perpetrators are politicians from all other parties, above all the Greens.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Wagenknecht said in an interview in early September. mirror– The conversation about the Greens being more dangerous than the AfD, “because the Greens, unlike the AfD, have governed and set the direction in many ways in recent years.” And further: “They feel what the Greens are implementing on climate and environmental policy. [die Wähler, die Red.] The victims: the voters, who are wrong, false and internally inconsistent.” The bullies: the Greens. Then the savior is himself.
One of the key things about the victim-bully-rescuer triangle is that it is a bullshit triangle. It is not real. It has nothing to do with reality. Because who is the victim, who is the bully, who is the savior always depends on who you ask. If you ask a Green Party supporter, they will probably say: Victim, they are the Green Party. Bully: Sahra Wagenknecht. Savior: probably the voter. A Green Party politician might say: Victim: Voter. Bully: Sahra Wagenknecht. Savior: The Green Party. It’s all bullshit. Everything is not real. Because everything is real, nothing is real. Unfortunately, the bullshit triangle is very powerful.
The omnipotence of the victim’s story
This is also because the victim archetype is so seductive and so powerful. It sticks to the human psyche like chewing gum in your hair. It takes a lot of awareness and self-effort to get rid of it. As a victim, you can blame others. The traffic lights get blamed, the AfD gets blamed, Olaf Scholz gets blamed, the Greens get blamed. You suffer because others are stupid, mean, and incompetent. Donald Trump is probably one of the most vivid examples of the omnipotence of the victim narrative in politics. Joe Biden is divisive, Kamala Harris is destroying the country, and the judges who convicted him are “stupid,” “dangerous,” and “puppets.” Depending on who you ask, Donald Trump is simultaneously a victim, a savior, and a perpetrator.
After a televised duel with rival Kamala Harris in early September (where Trump fared much worse than Harris by all surveys), he wrote on his platform, Truth Social, that the debate was “3-1.” The two moderators would have sided with Harris. Donald Trump, the victim, often did. Trump demonstrates how easy it is to blame others for one’s suffering and hold them accountable. And because the temptation to feel and portray oneself as a victim is so great, many people follow this narrative.
Feeling like a victim gives you the feeling that you are right, that you are doing everything right, that you never question yourself. It may feel good, but it ultimately means that you are handing over your feelings, thoughts, and actions to someone else—a politician, a spouse, a boss. To everyone who is responsible for why you are not feeling well. Only you no longer have any power over your life. You cannot devalue yourself more. And one thing is guaranteed: You will never grow, change, become stronger, or wiser. Feeling like a victim, and even being stuck in it (Donald Trump’s keyword), is the greatest sign of emotional immaturity possible.
There is no solution
This delicious victim narrative is cleverly exploited by politicians like Sahra Wagenknecht, Donald Trump, Friedrich Merz, Björn Höcke, etc. They portray themselves as saviors. Björn Höcke and Donald Trump are so explicit about this that they even compare themselves to the ultimate saviors, Jesus or the Almighty. So it is no wonder that Sahra Wagenknecht feeds people a devastating victim narrative.
Politicians form bullshit triangles because it means they have to do less to get power. You don’t have to do politics to get votes. Just a few months after its founding, Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) achieved between 11 and 16 percent of the vote in the state elections in Thuringia and Saxony. Thanks Bullshit Triangle. We will save you, poor victims. The “rescuers” are not interested in people.
The person who pretends to be a savior is only interested in his own power, self-image, being loved, being seen, and being loved. There is no solution in the triangle of bullshit. There is no compassion, no rationality, no cooperation. There is only drama. The person who wants to be saved loses himself. They value the identity of the “savior” more than their own identity and values. It is only a question of who the savior is. It is not about who you are. Sahra Wagenknecht is not a good politician. Only the triangle of bullshit – she masters it perfectly.
