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Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the ceremony: "Anyone who despises our democracy has no right to black, red and gold"
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
May 18, 1848 was a special day in German history. At that time, the members of the National Assembly met for the first time to draw up a liberal constitution for the whole of Germany.
That was 175 years ago – and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the National Assembly as a pioneer of democracy at a ceremony in Frankfurt's Paulskirche. "It was the moment when subjects became citizens," he said in his speech. Courageous people had set something in motion that was "an irreplaceable step on the long road to democracy and freedom in a united Germany". Celebrating the anniversary of St. Paul's Church is also a "sign against the despisers of our parliamentary democracy".
Parallels to the present
In his speech, Steinmeier made a plea for democratic processes: "The right to vote was fought for with the risk of one's life." The years 1848/49 were difficult years of democracy. The constitution drafted by the National Assembly had never come into force. At that time, the opposing forces "that still present us with great challenges today" were also evoked, he drew parallels to the present.
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With the parliaments, a counter-movement has also emerged: "A populism that despises the institutions and claims the supposedly true will of the people for itself alone." The Federal President spoke out against the instrumentalisation of the legacy of the National Assembly and the revolution of 1848 by those who have nothing in common with their values: "Therefore, anyone who stirs up new nationalism and propagates authoritarian thinking cannot invoke black-red-gold today. Anyone who despises our democracy has no right to black, red and gold."
Steinmeier recalled that the revolutionary awakening and parliamentarism of 1848 was not a unique German path, but that similar movements existed in many European countries. In view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, nothing could be more topical and necessary than this solidarity of the democrats in Europe. "If freedom and self-determination are threatened or attacked anywhere, all free people and peoples are threatened."
Long road to equality
Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) emphasized the importance of controversy, but also of a willingness to compromise and dialogue in parliamentarism. "What our democracy definitely doesn't need is when lies and hatred undermine the basic values of our coexistence," Bas said. She expressed concern about hatred and contempt for parliamentarians, which would have particularly dramatic consequences if volunteer local politicians withdrew out of fear.
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It is "right and important" that the anniversary of St. Paul's Church is celebrated not only with a ceremony, but also with a citizens' festival, said Hessian Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU). He recalled that a democratic constitution was still "pure luxury" for most people worldwide – and he warned of the long and arduous road to equal rights and political participation for women: It was not until about 100 years after the Paulskirche assembly, in which women were only silent observers in the gallery, that equal rights for men and women were enshrined in the Basic Law.
mar/dpa