DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN IN THE LAND OF SMILES?

This time, I’m not referring to Franz Lehár’s operetta. What bothers me is that, in politics and society, real problems are too often brushed aside with a “fake” smile. Even the smiles on campaign posters don’t always inspire confidence. The tie is gone, but the smile remains. Even after two hours of practice in front of the mirror, I haven’t managed to even come close to imitating that standardized smile. Even within the multi-tiered organization of us aviation professionals, legitimate criticism is often met with a smile. After all, we’re actually addicted to harmony and tolerate half-hearted efforts far too often. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with that.

But at some point, we have to call these problems by their name. These aren’t exactly simple situations. When public officials sense that someone is trying to chip away at their image, even the most diplomatic critics have a hard time. They keep a low profile, though not without a pained

Smile. I’d like to make a special mention here of negotiations with government agencies. “They’re all so nice…” (Franz Hohler). But no progress is being made. Both parties smile amiably without getting even a little closer to our negotiating goal. Here, it’s important to stay calm, clearly articulate our demands, and—if necessary—take them all the way to the highest levels of our political system. In Modern Standard German, this could be referred to as “political bargaining.” It’s quite possible that here and there, the smiles will be missing or will freeze. I wish us all the best of luck in any struggle against what I hope will not be any future inconveniences. ■

Best regards
, Emil Ch. Giezendanner