Rainhard Fendrich speaks on TV about the loss of his daughter: "Pain that cannot be compared to anything"

Rainhard Fendrich speaks on TV about the loss of his daughter: "Pain that cannot be compared to anything" teleschau • 1 hour • 2 minutes reading time "It never goes away": Rainhard Fendrich spoke openly on the ZDF magazine "Volle Kanne" about the pain caused by the death of his daughter over 35 years ago. The living Austropop legend also spoke about the political situation in Austria. Rainhard Fendrich is currently celebrating his 45th stage anniversary. Many people in German-speaking countries can still sing along to his Austropop hits ("Es lebe der Sport", "Macho, Macho"). As a guest on the ZDF magazine "Volle Kanne", the Viennese-born singer presented his new studio album "Wimpernschlag" and struck a thoughtful and serious tone. "The older you get, the more often you encounter death," said Fendrich in a conversation with presenter Florian Weiss, describing his motivation for his new song "And the heart beats on." The singer and songwriter: "When someone is taken from life before their time, by misfortune, by a short, serious illness, then that is a pain that cannot be compared to anything." Rainhard Fendrich released a new album in January. He himself experienced this, said Fendrich, whose daughter died in 1989 at the age of 17 from the effects of a viral disease. "When a loved one leaves forever, then a phantom pain remains for life," he explained. The same is true of his daughter. "It never goes away." Reinhard Fendrich warns: "Freedom of expression is the very first thing to die" The former ARD "Herzblatt" presenter also spoke about the political situation in his home country. In Austria, the plan is currently to form a coalition under the right-wing extremist FPÖ politician Herbert Kickl, after talks in the moderate camp had previously failed. "It's about democracy," Fendrich made clear. But you can't win elections with democracy. This was recently seen in the USA with the election of Donald Trump as president. The reason: "Because democracy is as natural to us as the air we breathe. Only when it goes away do you notice that something is missing." However, he is already feeling the effects of the shift to the right in Austria: "Freedom of speech is the very first thing to die," said Fendrich. He notices this in the shitstorms that would result "if you stand up and say what you think." In view of the massive demonstrations in Austria against a possible FPÖ chancellor, he is nevertheless confident: "There is certainly headwind. It won't be that easy." The singer continued: "I believe in the flapping of the butterfly's wings, which can perhaps trigger a tsunami of humanity."