Este Articulo en Español: Amor
Paternal
Paternal Love
Ole
von Beust talks to the press about his private life
©LIOWLB/Enkidu
Only
few weeks before the next elections for the city Parliament in Hamburg
on February 29, Mayor Ole von Beust from the conservative Christian
Democratic Party shares his feelings about being outed by his own
father in an interview with the German society magazine Bunte.
“First
I thought my father was getting mad” von Beust said. “Because we
had not agreed to this”. He referred to his immediate reaction last
summer when he opened the Sunday paper “Welt am Sonntag” and
discovered an interview with his own father speaking openly about his
son’s homosexuality.
Baron
Achim-Helge von Beust told Bunte stories from Ole’s youth. How the
parents had been looking forward to meet his first boyfriend, whom
they thought was a wonderful boy. The baron could also tell anecdotes
from the family beach vacations at the Baltic Sea where they of course
had noticed that Ole was always looking after the boys.
Ole
von Beust tells Bunte that he called his father immediately asking him
why he had not discussed it with him before he decided to talk to the
press about it. The father had answered, that he could not have done
that, since he knew Ole would have forbidden him to discuss the topic.
| Baron
von Beust had given the interview shortly after the scandal in the
Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg (which also is a German
federal state), that Enkidu wrote about last summer. Also before this
incident, the German media had mostly been aware of Ole’s sexual
orientation, but showed little interest in writing about it.
|
|
Only
thereafter did von Beust himself start talking about his sexual
orientation in interviews, although seldom wholeheartedly.
Now he says
to Bunte that in reality he is relieved about the step of his father.
“Looking back at it, I am very happy,“ he says. The interview was
characterized by the great love his father feels for him.
He also admits that it has a practical aspect that his father
revealed so much in the interview. It makes it easier for him to
maintain his policy of not discussing his private life with the media,
since now he can always say to the journalists:
“my father has already said it all!”
The
interview also reveals many new and interesting sides of von Beust’s
very private life, which until now has been totally unknown to most
voters. He talks about his passions and his dreams. Among other
things, he reveals that his favourite spot is the little beach town
Westerland on the Island Sylt at the German North See Coast. This is
where he experiences real freedom, where he can be without bodyguards
and walk around with jeans and sweater. And he takes the train to Sylt
like everyone else and leaves his Mayor Mercedes behind in Hamburg. He
likes Bob Dylan and his favourite comic figure is Donald Duck, which
he finds much more sympathetic than his Uncle Scrooge.
Ole
von Beust boosted his popularity among practically all voter
categories in Hamburg after his sexual orientation was made known in
the media. In many way last year’s scandal has strengthened his
political position, and it seems likely that he will continue in
office also after February 29. After this week’s personal portrait
interview in Bunte, von Beust also has presented himself as a human
being to his voters, which also may benefit his campaign. This year,
the City of Hamburg will host the annual EuroPride and if he stays in
office, as the last polls indeed indicate, the city’s first openly
gay mayor will give the opening speech.
BUNTE Nr. 8 vom 12.02.2004.
Ole von Beust:
Der Bürgermeister
Von
BUNTE-Autor Ulrich Becker
Enkidu/Bunte/Der Spiegel 13/2
-2003*
Los
Martes de Enkidu
[26.08.2003]:
