{"id":126973,"date":"2026-05-18T11:33:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=126973"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:42:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:42:21","slug":"a-dealer-in-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/a-dealer-in-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"A Dealer In Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18266],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creative-impact"],"acf":{"legacy":false,"exclude_from_ads":[],"hero_title":"","subtitle":"","hero":{"video":false,"image":false,"header_color":"black","overlay_color":"","overlay_text_color":"black"},"teasers":{"video":false,"image":false,"width":"4","proportion":"default"},"facebook_image":false,"related_articles":"","next_article":"","sleek_card_focus":"mid","main_category":false,"content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

AND THE CONTRADICTORY HUMAN<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

A LEADER IS A DEALER IN HOPE<\/p>\n

Leadership sounds wonderful \u2013 a shining star leading us out of misery and into the light. \u201cUn chef est un marchand d\u2019esp\u00e9rance,\u201d as Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have said: \u201cA leader is a dealer in hope.\u201d By the way: we don\u2019t like so much to say \u201cF\u00fchrer\u201d in Germany anymore, \u201cLeader\u201d sounds better.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

THE IDEAL OF EMPATHY<\/p>\n

What should our leaders be like? Empathetic, of course, team players, inclusive, even-tempered, and committed to diversity. Under no circumstances toxic, choleric or anything like that. And no pressure! Yes, and our leaders should actively engage in political discussion, but they should say the right thing, always strike the right note. We are very sensitive about this. We know what\u2019s right. Every statement they make must be run through the PR department five times to ensure that no group feels offended. Vulnerability! Unfortunately, the important entrepreneurs of our time do not seem to fit into this ideal of empathy: Jeff Bezos, known to be aggressively demanding, Steve Jobs was choleric, as we hear, perfectionist and toxic, Larry Ellison, a ranting control freak, Mark Zuckerberg, awkward and emotionally weak… but, hey, that\u2019s why we don\u2019t like them.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

THE VOW OF CHASTITY<\/p>\n

Anyone aspiring to a prominent position in Germany today, especially in politics, is expected to take vows of chastity and poverty as well. I won\u2019t reveal which of these vows I would have a problem with. Tucholsky is said to have said: \u201cFirst of all, you shouldn\u2019t visit your opponent in bed.\u201d Today, things are different. People like to snoop under the covers, and even years later, racy private chat messages are dug up. We are hypersexualised and at the same time beyond prudish.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

THE VOW OF POVERTY<\/p>\n

And if someone has money, it\u2019s very suspicious. \u201cAre you rich?\u201d Under no circumstances should you answer \u201cyes\u201d, you\u2019re expected to squirm and hedge: \u201cI would classify myself as upper middle class\u201d (as Friedrich Merz told Der Spiegel). People liked Helmut Kohl in Oggersheim, Helmut Schmidt in Langenhorn, Angela Merkel on her apartment floor. Jens Spahn with his villa in Berlin-Dahlem was a no-go. People who have made money, which can occasionally happen to leaders, are viewed with suspicion or even hatred. Elon Musk has, incomprehensibly, made quite a lot of money. But apparently none of that was his own doing; he is also said to wield shadowy conspiratorial powers against us, and many consider him insane and drug-addicted anyway. And when it comes to Donald Trump, we can only shake our heads in horror. What the f…ck is that?<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

OVERTHROW THE HEROES, WORSHIP THE VICTIMS<\/p>\n

Leaders we want to be different. If we are honest, we are in an era of toppling heroes and venerating victims. That is wonderfully human, empathetic and beautiful. And then people eventually become dissatisfied with their leaders, who are as bland as pebbles in a riverbed. But when a truly crazy autocrat, a charismatic populist, a \u201cstrongman\u201d, a supposedly \u201cbenevolent dictator\u201d promises bold actions and simple solutions, they follow him. But beware: strong leaders strive for concentration of power, and once a dictator is firmly in the saddle and shows his true colours, you won\u2019t be rid of him for decades to come and not without bloodshed.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

ULRICH SEIBERT is an art collector, Facebook philosopher, business law professor, investor, actor in low-budget films, friend of lively small talk, and, as he emphasises, a very serious man.<\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\nA Dealer In Hope A Dealer In Hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/a-dealer-in-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Dealer In Hope A Dealer In Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/a-dealer-in-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sleek Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T09:33:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T09:42:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Prof. Ulrich Seibert\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sleek Magazine\",\"description\":\"Sleek is Germany\u2019s leading independent media house\/brand for creativity and innovation located in Berlin the creative capital of the world. 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