This 100% my experience in Germany as well. Thank you for articulating it so well. There is zero political skill of anticipating counter-reactions in the gover

This 100% my experience in Germany as well. Thank you for articulating it so well. There is zero political skill of anticipating counter-reactions in the government. The perfect example of this phenomenon was the discussion around vaccine mandates. In 2020, mainstream politics dismissed all mentions of vaccine mandates as dangerous misinformation spread by right-wing conspiracy theorists. In 2022, mainstream politics is in favor vaccine mandates, and brands mandate opponents as right-wing conspiracy theorists. It's a complete disaster.