Federal President: Steinmeier: “Anger is not a good guide in democracy”

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for moderation and non-violence in view of the growing aggressiveness in the political debate.

Germany is living in difficult times, he said on Tuesday at the New Year’s reception in Bellevue Palace in Berlin. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, climate change, serious deficiencies in education and training, and the tasks of migration and integration are without a doubt major challenges. “But reacting to all of this with anger is not a good idea. Anger is not a good guide in a democracy.”

Emphasizing the importance of demonstrations and criticism

Demonstrations and protests were part of democracy. “And it is also legitimate to harshly criticize governments,” said Steinmeier. “But the limit has been crossed where hatred and violence are encouraged, where elected politicians are insulted, denigrated and attacked, and they and their relatives are even threatened with death.”

Steinmeier also addressed the attack against Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) a few days ago: “The fact that a federal government minister is insulted, threatened and coerced by an aggressive crowd on a private trip in such a way that he does not come home, that he has his “Not being able to leave the ferry and having to get to safety shocked me.”

Farmers prevented Habeck from leaving a ferry in the Schleswig-Holstein town of Schlüttsiel during a private trip last week. According to the shipping company, the ship was almost stormed. It had to turn back.

“Political culture brutalized during protests and demonstrations”

Steinmeier did not directly address the current farmers’ protests, where there are fears of infiltration by right-wing extremists or the lateral thinker scene. But he said he was concerned about how “the political culture has been brutalizing during protests and demonstrations” for a long time. This is a threat to democracy. “Democrats should therefore think very carefully about who they take to the streets with and which poster they follow.”

Steinmeier invited around 150 representatives of public life and 60 volunteers to the New Year’s reception. The list of prominent guests ranged from the presidents of the Bundestag, Bundesrat and Federal Constitutional Court – Bärbel Bas (SPD), Manuela Schwesig (SPD) and Stephan Harbarth – to Bundeswehr Inspector General Carsten Breuer and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD and his cabinet, However, this did not appear complete. Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) was noticed by a blue cuff on his hand – the result of a bicycle accident, as he explained.

The Federal President and his wife Elke Büdenbender shook hands – interrupted only by two short breaks – for around two and a half hours, spoke a few sentences to each guest and smiled into the cameras. The fact that volunteers were particularly important to Steinmeier was shown by the fact that they were invited to lunch after the parade. He tells them: “I feel a sense of respect and great gratitude every time I hear and see how much active and imaginative effort is alive, not to say extremely lively, in our country.”