Philipp Amthor removes Baltic beach chair from Chancellery after online backlash

Documentary appearance

CDU politician Philipp Amthor has decided to remove a Baltic hooded beach chair, known as a Strandkorb, from the balcony outside his office in the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. The 33-year-old Minister of State for Federal-State Relations faced extensive mockery and criticism after the delivery was featured in the second season of the ZDF documentary series "Inside CDU". The fourth episode of the series showed delivery workers rolling the furniture onto the outdoor terrace, located one floor beneath Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Amthor inspected the installation on camera and remarked, "Yes, that looks great," before discussing how to angle the seat.

In the unlikely event that I ever use it to relax, I can always turn it toward the Chancellor's garden.

Amthor also showed the furniture to a ZDF reporter, noting that during the evening twilight he could sit there and watch a fox roaming through the Chancellery garden.

Social media reaction

The documentary broadcast triggered immediate reactions across digital platforms, where multiple users wrote that they initially mistook the sequence for satire or artificial-intelligence-generated content. Several critics accused the politician of arrogance and described the scene as late-Roman decadence in its final stage, while another commenter wrote that King Louis XIV looked like a down-to-earth person by comparison. A user on the platform X argued that the scene alienated voters, pointing out that beach chairs were being delivered into a building of Speer-like dimensions while the country faced broad economic difficulties. Another user jokingly asked whether a patio heater was already in place for cooler autumn weather.

Public engagement on the topic escalated rapidly over the weekend. A single post published by the news program ZDF heute on Instagram accumulated over 1,600 comments by Sunday evening, climbing past 1,900 comments by Monday morning. Other users reacted with humor, stating that they did not begrudge the politician his seat.

Funding and official response

In response to the public reaction, deputy government spokesperson Steffen Meyer announced on Monday in Berlin that Amthor had ordered the beach chair to be transported away from the Chancellery and returned to his home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Meyer and government representatives clarified to press agencies that the furniture was purchased privately by Amthor, who paid for both the delivery and assembly without using any public funds.

The beach chair represents Mr. Amthor's connection to his home region. It was manufactured in the Minister of State's constituency on the island of Usedom.

Meyer stated that Amthor intended the item as a visible symbol of his home region within the Chancellery, but chose to have it removed because he took the public criticism very seriously. The spokesperson added that the removal was arranged immediately after the broadcast drew scrutiny.

Career trajectory in Berlin

Amthor moved to the Chancellery in late July during a government reshuffle, describing the new role in the ZDF film as a career leap into the front row of politics where one cannot be a slacker. He joined the CDU and its youth wing, the Junge Union, at age 16 before winning election to the Bundestag in 2017 at the age of 24. With approximately 150,000 Instagram followers and regular television talk show appearances, he built a high public profile despite nearly derailing his career during a 2020 lobbying affair.

Amthor advanced into the party leadership in 2024 as a members' representative on the CDU federal executive board under Friedrich Merz. He subsequently served as parliamentary state secretary in the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs under Karsten Wildberger before taking over federal-state relations in the Chancellery.