Bollmann: Personal reasons, not Blocher

The Swiss publishing manager Bollmann should have been in charge of the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. But that has now come to nothing. For the Süddeutsche Zeitung, in a letter published on May 28 Article The reason why "the commitment to the rather social democratic employer" would not work out was clear: "His former Employer and his political positions" were responsible for the premature termination of the contract. Bollmann had reorganized the Basler Zeitung on behalf of Christoph Blocher, who was known in Germany "above all as a right-wing populist and xenophobe". This had turned it into the "mouthpiece of right-wing populists". According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the threat of this happening to the WAZ "would not have been acceptable to readers in the Ruhr region". Erich Brost, a co-founder of the newspaper, was an SPD member and had to flee from the Nazis.

The interpretation of the German media is wrong, Rolf Bollmann told Schweiz am Sonntag. He had asked the Funke management to release him from the agreement for personal, family reasons. Although the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote the next day that the official story was "about his wife's illness", it maintained its own interpretation. The shareholders had only realized in the past few days "what an egg had been laid in their nest by the management". The personnel change was initiated by former Tamedia boss Martin Kall, who sits on the supervisory board of the Funke Group. Kall has appointed Bollmann to the Interview with Werbewoche as an "innovative mind who has a good eye for young talent, but has also already established companies in a healthy and sustainable way". "He has convinced his colleagues in Germany, otherwise he wouldn't be here now," says Kall. (hae)

Photo: Keystone