Mr President, 18 May marks the 175th anniversary of the meeting of the first freely elected German parliament. On this occasion, they will give the ceremonial speech in St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt. What will be your message?
Berthold Kohler
Editor.
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Eckart Lohse
Head of the parliamentary editorial office in Berlin.
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I don't just want to remind you of a date, but of the people who took to the streets for their rights and freedom, who fought and died. Frankfurt's St. Paul's Church is an outstanding symbol of German democratic history. It must not remain a place of remembrance alone, it must become a place of learning for democracy in our country.
You have repeatedly complained that our history of democracy is not valued enough. Why don't we Germans remind ourselves more often that our past also has bright chapters?
It is true that we Germans are very reluctant to refer to positive democratic achievements. We often tell our democratic history in terms of failure. In the short term, the revolution of 1848 may have failed. But in the long run, the events of that time were the historic turning point in our democratic history. For the first time, the call for freedom was heard. He never fell silent again. At that time, subjects became citizens.
We live in a difficult time, but in the freest Germany that has ever existed. Why, according to the surveys, do so many Germans still have a distant relationship with democracy?
We live in a society under constant stress. Let's look back two decades. At that time, we were glad that we were able to overcome mass unemployment of five to six million people. But then one crisis after another followed: banks, finance, the eurozone, refugees, Corona and finally a war in Europe that many Germans could no longer imagine. I understand that people develop doubts. All the more reason for us to remember that it is precisely with our democracy that we have overcome crises and maintained stability. I don't see any authoritarian system in the world that has done this in a similar way. Democracy deserves trust.
Are there differences between West and East Germany in relation to democracy?
Everywhere in our country, I hear a strong desire to experience something like normality after crisis, pandemic and war. One of the differences I've learned is that in the West, many people take democracy for granted, perhaps too much. After almost 75 years of the Basic Law, it is no longer understood as a matter of joint effort. Democracy only lives if people are willing to commit themselves to it. The gap is widening: expectations of politicians are increasing, but the willingness to get involved on the ground is declining. Thus, the distance between people and democratic institutions is growing.
And in the East?