DW's Flipping the Script: Putting voters at the heart of political debates

Flipping the Script, produced for the 2021 German federal election on September 26, will run on social media and on DW TV.

"Flipping the Script is one of the several exciting new interactive formats that DW journalists have developed ahead of the federal elections," says DW Editor-in-Chief Manuela Kasper-Claridge. "Directing attention onto voter discussions, rather than politicians delivering their messages, promotes political participation and democracy, two of the values for which DW stands."

The four-part series tackles issues such as climate change, migration, cannabis legalization and social mobility, putting the concerns of citizens from diverse backgrounds at the heart of political debates. Politicians from different political parties were the audience, asked questions and made comments. Invitations to attend Flipping the Script were extended to politicians from all parties with a parliamentary group in the German Bundestag. The format is produced in German and English.

Flipping the Script puts voters at the center of political debates.

DW journalist Aya Ibrahim created the format. "It is our job as journalists to create space for discussions that tackle Germany’s future challenges head-on, and to provide a platform for people to discuss these challenges freely. In an election that’s being watched around the world, it was also important for us to provide our global audiences with insight into how debates around things like climate and migration play out in Germany," Ibrahim says.

In the first episode dealing with climate change, a Fridays for Future activist goes head-to-head with a coal company worker. Both see climate change as a problem but have vastly different opinions about how Germany should fight it.

Politicians are the ones asking questions in Flipping the Script (seen here: Karamba Diaby, Social Democratic Party).

Flipping the script is part of DW's comprehensive coverage of the German Bundestag election campaign and the federal elections on September 26. Get an overview here.

In the run-up to the election, DW's German and English-language website will feature the sections dw.com/bundestagswahl and dw.com/germanelection, which will offer an overview of current reporting, background information and formats.