We by no means thought we’d care about what occurs at POLITICO, a Beltway gossip weblog situated many, many flooring beneath the Washington Free Beacon. But then we realized about Mathias Döpfner.
Towering over the competitors at a Glenn Youngkinesque 6 toes 7 inches, the chief government of the German publishing home Axel Springer induced a stir when his firm acquired POLITICO in 2021. The uproar got here principally as a consequence of an e mail Döpfner despatched weeks earlier than the 2020 election to his government staff:
“Do we all want to get together for an hour in the morning on November 3 and pray that Donald Trump will again become President of the United States of America?”
Döpfner went on to element all the causes Trump was price praying for. In truth, Döpfner mentioned Trump was proper about practically every little thing essential, together with standing as much as China and Russia, advancing peace in the Middle East, and making NATO freeloaders pay up.
And that’s not all. Unlike different rightwing German strongmen, Döpfner is staunchly pro-Israel. Following a wave of anti-Semitic riots in Germany final 12 months, Döpfner ordered an Israeli flag be flown outdoors his firm’s headquarters. When some of his employees objected, Döpfner allow them to have it:
“I’m being very frank with you: A person who has an issue with an Israeli flag being raised for one week here, after antisemitic demonstrations, should look for a new job.”
This shouldn’t have come as a shock to the staff, since Israel’s proper to exist is one of the rules that Axel Springer staff should decide to in writing, together with help for a free-market financial system. While he received’t make POLITICO staff signal the written settlement, he made it clear that he nonetheless expects them to stick to the code. Wunderbar!
At this level, you’re in all probability considering: “Wow, the only thing that would make Döpfner cooler would be if he owned so much nude art that he had to build a museum to hold it all!”
Boy, do we now have nice news for you. “While other new billionaires invest in yachts,” the Washington Post wrote in a profile of the German businessman, “Döpfner built an art museum to house his collection of female nudes by female artists, said to be the world’s largest.”
A take-no-prisoners, free-market Zionist with a warehouse of nudes? This is a person after our icy, neocon hearts.
Döpfner, when you ever work out of the POLITICO workplace and wish a break from the Playbook squishes, we’d love so that you can be a part of us upstairs for a scotch and a few stimulating political dialogue. If they ask in your ID at the door, simply inform them: I’m Mathias Döpfner, Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.