Ex-Chancellor Merkel revealed in an interview what she often spoke about with Erdogan, why she has no understanding for AfD voters and what the absence of freedom does to people.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) emphasized that she was Chancellor of all people who live permanently in Germany. “I also spoke to Turkish President Erdogan about this very often,” she told ZDF. The question was who was responsible for people of Turkish origin who lived here in the second or third generation. “And I always said: ‘Look out, I’m their Chancellor’.” Germany includes everyone. “Since we have had a lot of people living permanently in our country in recent years who haven’t always lived here, it’s a new task for us to take them on.”
Merkel made the comments in the documentary “On the Pulse with Mitri Sirin,” which will be broadcast on ZDF on the unity holiday this Tuesday. There she also said that she had no understanding when people voted for the AfD. “If you make a name for yourself at the expense of other people, including people who look different and people with different biographies, then that’s not something I understand.” She understands that people are upset about some things. But she is not prepared to accept that people therefore support ideas and ideas that, for her, have nothing to do with tolerance. “I would always argue against that and would say that in this democratic society you can also express your criticism and anger in other ways.”
Difference between GDR and personal life
For Merkel, there is a difference between the GDR state and personal life there. “Despite all the attempts to influence young people, the GDR obviously didn’t manage to replace the family. We had friends, we celebrated, we went on vacation with our parents. Those were all experiences,” said them to ZDF.
“And then there are the formative experiences through the state. I mean, the presence of freedom shapes people, but the absence of freedom also shapes them.” She always talked about the fact that there was a difference “between the GDR state, the overcoming of which we all enthusiastically celebrated, and a personal life, which in every country is more than just the state structure.” Merkel made the comments in the documentary “On the Pulse with Mitri Sirin,” which will be broadcast on ZDF on the unity holiday this Tuesday.
Source: Stern
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