What do the politicians want to tell us?

Angela Merkel

The poster radiates reassuring confidence. This corresponds to the style of leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her face is directed to the left into the picture and thus towards the past. She seems to lean comfortably over a balcony railing. At the same time, however, she could immediately take action again: she turns her eyes to the top right with a confident eye-opener, which stands for the future. The blue background underlines this impression, it has a calming effect and signals openness.

The statement of the election poster and the German flag in the background call to mind the sense of the World Cup 2006. In addition, the saying strongly reminiscent of Barack Obama's "Yes we can". The only question is: who is meant here by "we"? The CDU? The German voters?

The smile of Mrs. Merkel is conventional. Even her eyes hardly smile. In addition, her face has been edited so that she looks almost girlishly tender, almost harmless and innocent in her cuddly, white sweater. Apparently, that's what it's meant to be. The picture is too tame for this slogan, especially as Frau Merkel does not look authentic. Too bad, because she can bring on TV appearances with their gestures quite their assertiveness to the expression. A bright red blazer, convincing gestures and facial expressions would arrive credibly.

German politican

Here the well-known slogan is well complemented: "... for security (warm in Germany gold) and freedom (in open window view white)". Wolfgang Schäuble is sitting in a plane or train compartment, the view through the window is indicated. That fits in with the concept of freedom, the blue tones suggest security. Schäuble also radiates competence and security, because he is currently informed. So the citizens can trust that he always and everywhere makes the right decision for the people, the poster seems to say. The Minister of the Interior seems deliberate and engrossed with thoughtful gestures. The clearly visible wedding ring signals loyalty, the red of the tie and the newspaper the necessary energy. Overall, this looks very credible.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ulla Schmidt

The red of the party serves on these posters as a background, her name has a future-oriented: He is slightly obliquely placed to the top right and packed into a solid block that points to the respective protagonist. This is reinforced by the clear, hardly contradictory statement. Both politicians, it is suggested here, will tackle.

Only: Where and how do they tackle what and in what direction? It lacks the appropriate body language: both are turned to the left, so in the past, and look at the viewer without further gestures only frontal and friendly.

At the same time, Frank-Walter Steinmeier is generally sympathetic and authentic. He smiles - even with his eyes? confident and inspiring confidence. The anthracite jacket, white shirt and striped tie radiate conventional reliability.

Ulla Schmidt blends into the picture with the pink blazer and the black, barely visible shirt. The discreet and extraordinary jewelry emphasizes their individual personality. Her smile seems to say, "I believe in me, no matter what." However, it does not look real, because her eyes do not smile. But since you do not know it differently, it is authentic again.

Conclusion: The call to vote on 27 September SPD is well done and memorable. Text and picture do not match. For both protagonists to tackle slogan would fit more to a right-facing posture with meaningful gestures and determined facial expressions. Unfortunately many good elements are given away on this poster? it does not really seem believable by these disagreements.

Guido Westerwelle

This poster repeats very cleverly the Germany flag in the slogan field. By "Germany" we are all meant, represented by smiling followers of different ages. Everyone smiles, so must the observer with smile.

And of course Guido Westerwelle smiles brightly and directly at the viewer. He is confidently turned to the right, ie into the future, and attracts attention with his height. He takes a bath in the crowd dressed in his shirt, showing that he is posing and (tangible). The lady in the foreground seems to adore him. The blue striped tie underlines conservative competence. The stripes are repeated in the lady's blouse on the right in the picture.She is the only one to look invitingly at voters except the federal chairman, as if she were saying, "You belong to us and believe in him, do not you?" In addition, the glasses pushed into the hair signals support. Very well chosen are the predominantly blue, pastel-colored and matching slogan colors. The poster suggests: The self- and victory-conscious all-rounder enjoys the full support of the people. Any further gestures would be superfluous. Absolutely positive, successful and credible.

Cornelia Pieper

The beaming and self-confident smile of Cornelia Pieper is credible, but overall the poster looks too colorful and thus cheap. The subtle choker with the little pearl looks precious, which can symbolize better education. But the color of the lipstick is far too gaudy and bites with the red of the Germany flag. If one had chosen a darker, harmonious blue for the blazer, more peace would come into the poster. The slogan "Better education ..." is fitting, but the word "Better" is placed too close to Mrs. Pieper's hair and seems to be squeezed into it. Also the slogan in yellow writing on yellow background is setting. More peace and competence would radiate the poster if, as in the Westerwelle poster below a field with the extended slogan and the repeatedly appeared Germany flag would be placed. A well-chosen slogan, an authentic charisma of the protagonist? but unfortunately everything else was badly implemented.

Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir

These posters are not only the same design, but also have the same well-made and expression of the portraits matching slogan. This gives you a high recognition value. Both protagonists seem believable, because they look at the viewer head-on and the eyes smile here with. In both, the eyes are expressive through the large pupils (scientifically proven: sympathetic to sexy) and the lighting is positively affected by a spark of light in the upper right quarter of the eyes.

The smile of Cem Özdemir is slightly mischievous, but nevertheless decided. The blue of his shirt signals trustworthiness, the dark suit jacket correctness.

Ms. Roth's smile, on the other hand, is radiant, her eyes and the position of her eyebrows also express assertiveness. With the golden necklace, it shows style, the purple blazer made of sturdy fabric currently works and the material stands for everyday normality. Thus, different voter layers are cleverly addressed here.

The pleasant background green of course fits the party color, and the - seeming almost like a halo - light behind the two performers underscores the uniqueness of the slogan and the visual directness of the two. Very well done and absolutely believable.

Gregor Gysi and Oskar Lafontaine

These two posters are similarly designed: the red of the left as a background, the name of the party placed forward obliquely from left to right. The individual statements are here skillfully above. Both protagonists underline their respective statements in an imaginary discussion through the forward-looking view, the talking mouth and the individual gestures. Gregor Gysi is the more temperamental with dedicated yet friendly, almost inspiring facial expressions. He gesticulates with the left, the "feeling" hand. The open blue button-down shirt collar also underlines trustworthiness. This fits in with the content of the right-placed words, which act like a call. The dark blue suit and the sparkling golden watch show its adaptation to conventions as a counterbalance.

On the other hand, Oskar Lafontaine looks more like the thoughtful. The right hand - "intellect" hand - makes an explanatory and decisive gesture. His eye expression is compassionate-challenging, reinforced by his left-to-right attitude. The slightly oblique head and body posture is typical for him. The dark blue suit, the light blue shirt and the diamond patterned tie express correctness and reliability. His serious, but not unfriendly facial expressions allowed, especially by the eye and the slightly open mouth barely a contradiction of his invisible counterpart.

The reference to the? In the wording cleverly chosen - Internet page under the quotations should address the voters sustainably intellectually, because argumentatively. Overall, very convincing.

Veronika Langguth is an expert in body language.

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