He wanted to remove sensitive statements: Sunday broadcast destroys interview with Marco Rima

Rima becomes the figurehead of the critics of the measures

Then came the pandemic: please stay home. Extraordinary location. lockdown Closed parks and pubs. Entertainers like Rima were hit particularly hard. At first he saw himself as a calmer person. He just wanted to mend the rifts that were beginning to rip open in society. Then they got bigger every day.

The conflict over anti-Covid measures divided groups of friends, families and the country. At that time, Rima produced the blog “I don’t know”, on which, as the saying goes, he only asked questions. Vaccination, the hospital crisis, the mask obligation, home schooling, the performance of government leaders – everything was radically questioned.

The general public responded with a jovial shrug – until the ill-fated Corona demo on September 19, 2020 at Turbinenplatz in Zurich. Rima made a mistake on stage: no one died of Covid. The fact that he corrected himself shortly afterwards was of no avail. In the chorus of lateral thinkers, freedom dreamers and critics of measures, he became a figurehead – and at the same time became the bogeyman of the majority society: the mutation from the sun king to the nightshade plant was unstoppable.

Sunday view interview

Rima got his grease from the press, including from Ringier publications. Soon he and his wife Cristina reported death threats and toilet paper in the mailbox. The two became critics of the mass media. People preferred to exchange ideas on Telegram channels and other platforms.

A conversation with SonntagsBlick seemed unthinkable until last week. Then the editors were told that the show legend wanted to sit on the Council of States for his canton. An interview was arranged, “uncensored”, with no taboos.

On Thursday, he rode his e-bike into the foyer of the Ringier building on Dufourstrasse in Zurich. An hour-long open discussion followed. On Friday, Rima had the authorization text in front of her. In the evening, his wife and manager Cristina reported: it was impossible to release the play in this way, her husband was portrayed in an absolutely unflattering and superficial way.

Rima wanted to change the interview afterwards

Until now, so common in media operations. SonntagsBlick was waiting for the authorized version. It was available on Saturday. However, the modified manuscript contained well-worded sentences in political jargon that the interviewee had never said before. This is not uncommon in interviews, but is more common with federal councilors or corporate executives; Just PR work. In addition, Rima and his wife wanted to remove entire topics that he had spoken openly about – such as sensitive statements about the pandemic.

The eloquent performing artist, who had made a name for himself in recent years with all kinds of provocations about Corona, climate and gender issues, did not want to share too risky thoughts in his interview.

The editors of SonntagsBlick respect that – but find it pointless to print an interview from which the most controversial passages have been removed.

Astonishingly, the sympathetic skeptic, systems critic and social romantic Marco Rima has moved a little closer to political normality with his candidacy.