In the winter of 1972-73, Willy Brand traveled to Fuerteventura to recover from the rigors of the election campaign. There, in complete seclusion, he wrote his government declaration, accessible only by radio, since there was no telephone line to his remote hotel.
For the german Stern magazine, Robert Lebeck traveled to the island unannounced with journalist Ulrich Blank and asked to accompany the chancellor on a daily basis, but for a limited time: "Ten minutes every day for a motif, and then we'll leave the chancellor alone again." Brand agreed. In his autobiography "Flashback," Lebeck wrote: "Brandt was always up for a Stern story; he was considered a pop star among politicians, and his biggest fan was Henri Nannen." Then, in January 1973, the Stern report "A Sancho Panza Named Willy Brandt" appeared, alluding to the photo of the donkey-riding chancellor.
In the following years, Willy Brand spent several vacations on the island; some claim that he heralded the success story of German tourism on Fuerteventura at that time, so to speak.
Thus, the municipality of Morro Jable honored the prominent visitor with a monument ("Willy Brand and his dog Bastian", after a photo by Robert Lebeck) and on the beach promenade Calle Acantilado one suddenly encounters a Lebeck photo gallery...
