Cologne Carnival’s Rose Monday Parade, set for February 16, will again feature satirical “persiflage” floats — 120 in total — that roast world figures and tackle political and social issues. Parade director Marc Michelske previewed several float themes ahead of the event.
One sketch shows Donald Trump looking into a mirror, grinning with his bare bottom exposed and covered in kiss marks. “We asked ourselves why so many people bow down to Donald Trump, and Trump himself has said, ‘They’re kissing my ass,'” Michelske told DW. The kisses bear the names of prominent people and organizations, including the European Union, FIFA, the United Nations, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron. “Trump always hits below the belt, as he does with all issues. It’s very low, especially for a president of the United States, and this is the best way we could represent that,” Michelske said.
Cologne is among the few carnival organizations that present float sketches before Rose Monday; Düsseldorf keeps them secret until the parade. “That means that whatever nasty things we come up with will actually be paraded, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it,” float builder Jacques Tilly said. Michelske argues advance presentation is important: “It’s not a secret, and things should be presented and explained to the public.”
Another float uses a large light-blue cobra to denounce Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The snake — Kaa from The Jungle Book — is in the AfD’s color and wraps itself around a young person. “Kaa tried to wrap himself around the boy Mowgli and hypnotize him, and we see this happening right now,” Michelske said. He urged dialogue with those drawn to the AfD: “You have to talk to these people, not just denounce them… We have to help people break out of this hypnosis.”
Other themes include a boy with a cell phone wearing an oversized military helmet, referencing debate over reinstating compulsory military service; a blood-splattered guillotine labeled “US tariffs” with the US flag as the blade; and a rabbit labeled “EU” carrying heavy weights while the US (an eagle), Russia (a bear) and China (a panda) watch, accompanied by text asserting the EU will manage without the powerful.
There will be no Putin float in Cologne this year — not out of fear but out of solidarity with Düsseldorf builder Jacques Tilly, who has been taken to court by Russia over a satirical Putin float. “We definitely stand in solidarity with him; fools must be free,” Michelske said, adding that Cologne will defer to Düsseldorf on a Putin-related float. Mainz carnival associations have also pledged support for Tilly, saying they will not be intimidated or deprived of their humor.
The parade’s motto is “Mer dun et för Kölle” (“We’re doing it for Cologne”), honoring the city’s volunteers. A group of 250 volunteer singers from over 30 Cologne choirs and a 50-piece volunteer orchestra will lead the Rose Monday parade, adding music to the satire.
This article has been translated from German.