Steinmeier: German Democracy Faces Its Greatest Threat Since Reunification

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned that democracy in Germany is currently facing its most serious threat since the country's reunification. The president's warning came on the occasion of November 9th, a date that carries multiple and often contradictory symbolic meanings in modern German history.

This date marks a pivotal moment on more than one occasion, from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to other events that shaped the country during the twentieth century, making it a day on which official and civic Germany alike reflects on its collective memory and contemplates the path of democracy built after years of division.

Rise of the Far Right

Steinmeier noted that among the most prominent manifestations of this threat is the growing rise of far-right currents in the German political landscape, alongside escalating antisemitism and hate speech directed against Muslim communities, at a time when Europe is experiencing rapid political and social transformation.

The German president did not stop at issuing a warning; he called for a firm commitment to the democratic values upon which reunified Germany was founded, arguing that defending these values is a collective responsibility that extends beyond political parties and official institutions to encompass society as a whole.

This warning comes in the context of a broad political debate in Germany on how to confront extremism in all its forms, amid repeated calls from political and institutional figures to raise awareness of the risks of democratic backsliding witnessed in some European countries.