German Actor Lars Eidinger has expressed surprise at the intense debate that followed Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s (SPD) description of Berlin’s Culture Senator Joe Chialo (CDU) as a “Court Jester”.
“I don’t understand this discussion” Eidinger told the Rheinische Post. “Anyone with a spark of intelligence knows that the Jester is the most important figure. It’s an absolute compliment. In Hamlet, it’s the Jester who is the main character.”
The actor characterized the commotion over being referred to as a Jester as “culturally distant and foreign”. “The Jester is the most important figure. Every culture senator is a court jester. Every artist is a court jester in the best sense” he said.