Steinmeier warns of a crisis of democracy on German Unity Day

On German Unity Day, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned of the failure of democracy and at the same time called for a determined fight against extremism. "The unbearable political demagoguery of extremist forces who enjoy destruction and mock and threaten other people not only endangers freedom and democracy - it endangers our internal unity," said Steinmeier at the central ceremony in Bremen.

The Federal President confirmed that there was a deep crisis of trust in democracy in Germany. "Soon four decades after German unification, after multiple, I believe historically unprecedented, efforts to rebuild and renew, large parts of the citizenry declare their distrust of the political order of the Federal Republic," he said. »I don't want to say that they are turning against democracy itself. But to be honest, I don’t know.”

Steinmeier was alluding to the results of the recent state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in which the AfD became the strongest force. However, he did not mention the party by name in his speech.

“Every voice counts, everyone must be taken seriously,” he said. "That's precisely why we can't avoid the fact that a quarter or more are declaring with their voting decision that they are turning away from important fundamental decisions of our republic." Steinmeier also said: "Voters who go to extremes are loudly insisting on their own rights, while they are prepared to put the rights of others at risk."

When looking for reasons, politicians must ask themselves whether they may have done too little to prevent unemployment and bring East Germans into more influential positions. At the same time, Steinmeier complained about the "constant omnipresence and intrusiveness of all kinds of messages, the advanced presentation of the most absurd idiocies, the shrill emotionalization, the confusion as to whether a human is writing or a machine, whether a citizen or a bot is posting." It is important to assert oneself against a “flood of manipulation and lies”.

Steinmeier sent words of warning to the black-red federal government: In these times, a “considered, steady, professional, persistent government policy is needed more urgently than ever,” he said. This is the only way to eliminate “the deeper economic and social causes of uncertainty” among the population.

It was Frank-Walter Steinmeier's last speech as Federal President on a national holiday. The SPD politician and former foreign minister, who was born in Detmold, was elected head of state in February 2017 and was confirmed for another term in 2022. He will be Federal President until March.

In his speech on German Unity Day, Steinmeier also took a self-critical assessment. "My expectations were greater than what became reality - expectations, above all, of the progress of liberal democracy and the validity of the indisputable reason of international cooperation," said the 70-year-old. But there were bitter setbacks. Steinmeier admitted that he was not prepared "as a democratic politician to have to defend constitutional democracy itself, our pluralism and the fundamental rights of our constitution."