German Research Minister Dorothee Bär received the 'Anti-Excessive Seriousness' medal during a carnival event in the German city of Aachen. She used her speech to comment on the controversy sparked by Chancellor Friedrich Merz regarding the 'image of the city'. The politician, a member of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria and also serving as State Minister for Space Affairs, posed a question on stage about which politician might be suitable for a trip to the moon. During her speech, delivered in the form of a poem, she at one point addressed Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union.
