People - Trittin: "Never again power for anti-democrats"
After 25 years in the Bundestag, Green politician Jürgen Trittin has bid farewell with much praise for the traffic light system, a dash of irony and words of warning. In his last speech in parliament on Thursday, he listed numerous decisions made by the SPD, Greens and FDP in the first half of the parliamentary term. "There are more jobs in Germany than ever before in history. We have passed 170 laws. And now we even have a budget. Obviously, the traffic light is more capable of acting than the traffic light itself sometimes believes."
Away from the politics of the day, the 69-year-old pointed out the deep divisions in many societies around the world. Democrats in Germany on both the left and the right had learned that in most cases, compromises and consensus across political camps ended social disputes - "from nuclear consensus to special funds for the Bundeswehr". The former Federal Environment Minister warned: "If democrats don't stand together, anti-democrats will come to power."
Unlike in Spain and the USA, for example, even cross-party coalitions are possible in Germany. "You don't like them, but you do them, even if it's difficult," said Trittin. "That is not a sign of arbitrariness, it is an expression of responsibility." The Green politician said goodbye with the words: "You must not transfer power to anti-democrats. Never again. Thank you for allowing me to work in this House for 25 years in this spirit."
Trittin received long applause, also from other parliamentary groups. He had surprisingly announced on Tuesday that he would be resigning his seat at the end of the year. "Now, in the middle of the legislative period, is the right time to leave in a self-determined manner," he told Der Spiegel. Last summer, he realized that he would have been a member of the Bundestag for 25 years in the autumn. "25 - that's a nice anniversary to say goodbye to." Trittin had represented the Göttingen constituency in the Bundestag since 1998.
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Traffic lawyer warns: Don't talk to the police!
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
Source: www.stern.de
