Last but not least: striker in a glass of water

"Schweiz entköppeln" is the name of the campaign that the theater is using to promote the performance "Die grosse Austreibung" (The Great Expulsion) on 18 March. An "experienced exorcist" is to free Weltwoche publisher Roger Köppel from the spirit of Julius Streicher. Streicher is considered to be the most radical anti-Semite of the Third Reich. With his newspaper Der Stürmer, he incited hatred against Jews on a weekly basis with unprecedented fanaticism and in the most primitive manner. The publication invented horror stories such as alleged ritual murders or denounced fellow Jews with their photo and address in order to accuse them of invented crimes. The image of the so-called "Stürmer Jew" spread in the caricatures drawn by Philipp Rupprecht created a stereotypical, repulsive portrayal that has persisted in the anti-Semitic context to this day.

"Besides (sic!) twice is better. That's why we're also flying in a renowned voodoo priest from Cameroon on March 18, 2016 to curse Köppel for good," write those responsible. The priest had already gained international recognition as a result of Jörg Haider's (fatal) car accident, for which he was also responsible.

Visitors to the website, inspired by such contempt for Köppel, can then join in the cursing and wish the unloved editor-in-chief a car accident, Ebola or incontinence, for example. Some possibilities such as paraplegia, Alzheimer's or schizophrenia have been removed in the meantime, but still appear in the results. Presumably, these diseases are a little too firmly anchored in society to wish them on someone just because they have a different political opinion. Direct democracy and all that.

Speaking of different political opinions: according to SDA, it is not only the SVP and FDP in the city of Zurich that are anything but enthusiastic about the campaign, but also the left-wing mayor Corinne Mauch (SP). The campaign crossed the red line, was tasteless and "bad satire", Mauch told the municipal council on Wednesday. She emphasized that sometimes art is also bad. There is really nothing more to add. Even if Köppel can be accused of occasionally cultivating a style that is more reminiscent of the Stürmer than the Coopzeitung or Schweizer Familie, for example with repulsive caricatures of foreigners (Weltwoche front page 2/2016) or public denunciation and defamation ("We warn against these professors"). Whether one should wish someone a serious, often fatal illness for the fun of it is probably something everyone has to decide for themselves. (hae)