Ulf Poschardt:
More Gotham,
Less Mayberry

Mr. Poschardt, what drives a person like you?

I’m a real petrolhead who learned everything in the fast lane. My ideal driving force is a twelve-cylinder engine from Maranello. But a six-cylinder boxer from Weissach and Zuffenhausen will do just fine.

In your latest essay, you identify a new archetype in the form of the “Shitbürger”. What exactly is this person like? 

That’s the type of person who drives at 120 km/h in the fast lane in his crappy turbodiesel station wagon. And then angrily flashes his lights at you when you merrily pass him on the right going twice as fast – when all three lanes are clear. Of course, this is just a theoretical example.

Where else do we see examples of this persona?

Everywhere. They pervade Germany’s cultural fabric. In public broadcasting, in the churches, NGOs, media, in cultural institutions and in the political parties left of center, including the Merkel CDU.

How do these people influence our political and social establishment? 

They know very little, but they have too much say. They have shifted the cultural coordinates so much that we are being governed completely out of touch with reality when it comes to economic policy and migration. Until we crash. And that’s likely to happen soon.

How did it come to this? Where did this unprecedented dominance come from? 

The answer would be too long for our interview. The best thing to do is to read my essay. That will support an old first-time publisher and the next repairs to his Ferrari Testarossa. It’s a quick read, like a drive over the Stelvio Pass in the morning, before the bikers or cyclists have even got out of bed.

What do you learn about yourself from reading your essay?

I only speak to individuals. And the middle classes need to become bolder and more rebellious. The opportunism on LinkedIn, all that woke bullshit, has brought the economy to the brink.

And how do you think we should deal with these
kinds of people? 

Criticize them sharply and confidently represent your own liberal positions without being afraid of the zeitgeist.

You open the discussion by giving the moralistic elite you criticize a pejorative label. Was that really necessary?

Yes. It is a contrived disrespect, as I write in the preface. 

Even before its publication, your polemic had already generated a great deal of controversy and debate. You had to self-publish the essay because the originally intended publisher, zu Klampen Verlag, deemed it too controversial.

Anyone who drives a Ferrari Testarossa knows that true elegance needs rough edges, not a streamlined silhouette. The only exceptions are the Berline-Rome car [VW Type 60 K 10 but also called Porsche Type 64, developed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1939] and the Ferrari Dino 246.

Should there be more controversial writings with strong opinions as part of a culture of open debate? And if so, what can be done?

We can’t do anything. Everyone has to start with themselves. Your readers here can start by buying my essay and engaging with my arguments. It belongs in everyone’s glove compartment.

What are you doing next after this interview?

Hook up the battery from my [Ferrari 512] BB to the charger. I can hardly wait for spring to come. 

ULF POSCHARDT was born on March 25, 1967, in Nuremberg and studied journalism and philosophy in Munich, where he also attended the German School of Journalism. He has served as editor-in-chief of the magazine supplement of German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and of the German edition of Vanity Fair. From 2016 to 2024 he was editor-in-chief of Die Welt, and since January 2025 he has been publisher of Die Welt, Politico Germany and Business Insider Germany. Poschardt self-published his essay “Shitbürgertum” after a dispute with the originally intended publisher.

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