This is the speech a German Chancellor should deliver NOW
I am no politician. But I wrote a speech that addresses some of the pressing issues Germany currently faces.
Dear Readers,
This time, my newsletter is not about the U.S., but about German politics. I wrote a political speech that addresses a few points that I think are important in these difficult times for Germany.
What do you think about the current situation in Germany? Do you agree? Do you have a different opinion? Feel free to comment on Substack or send me an email. If you are interested in Germany, be sure to check out my piece on the German economy here.
Philipp Sandmann
Dear fellow citizens,
Our country is in a serious crisis. This crisis is of an economic nature, yes, but this crisis is fundamentally even more of an identity crisis.
We will have to deal with these three crucial and fundamental questions in the future:
1) Where does our prosperity come from and what does climate protection have to do with it?
2) How important are humanity and morality to us?
3) How will we treat each other in the future and who are our partners on the world stage?
To be clear right at the beginning: I love my country. Germany is a country that has every opportunity to be successful. We are a country of courageous women and men, a country full of entrepreneurs and big companies that are known all over the world, a country with breathtakingly beautiful nature, the country with the best beer (!!), the country of poets and thinkers, the country with a complicated but precise and beautiful language, a country with many different cultures, and a country that was once divided and is still growing together today. I believe that we can continue to grow together.
Before I talk about what needs to change, I would therefore like to say, without naming specific political parties: Don’t believe those who constantly talk Germany down. Don’t believe those who don’t offer any solutions. Instead, believe those who are thinking about how we can move forward.
In my opinion, the next German federal government needs a mandate to think long-term and make smart policies for future generations. For me, conservatism and climate protection are not contradictory. For me, social policy and liberal thinking are not contradictory. However, as in all areas of life in a functioning democracy, smart compromises are needed. Tolerance is needed and, in the words of the former German President Joachim Gauck: Tolerance is difficult, tolerance means not always agreeing and tolerance means arguing.
The first question I asked was: Where will our prosperity derive from in the future?
This is perhaps the all-important domestic policy issue. We can only be and remain a welfare state if we have the money for it. And money must be earned. Money can only be earned if there is innovation.
It is possible not to ban the combustion engine immediately and still say that we are investing in electric vehicles in order to make our car industry competitive in this area. How can it be that the new and popular generation of electric cars comes from the U.S. and China and not from Germany? Why was Germany in a deep sleep for so many years?
What we have not yet understood in Germany: Investments in renewable energies are not only useful for climate protection. They are also (and above all) important because these will inevitably be the technologies of the future. Technologies that will play a decisive role in so many areas of the global economy. If we want to make money, then we have to be relevant in this area. If our car industry wants to make money, then it has to be relevant in this area.
To give you an example: China is the biggest CO2 emitter in the world. But at the same time, China is the market leader in renewable technologies. The battle for dominance in this area has become crucial. China knows this and has already effectively conquered this future market with the emerging energy transition. Companies from China have recently registered 81% (16,992) of patents for renewable energies, the most of any country in the world. The USA is in second place with 8% (1,613). The question I have: Where is Germany? China also shows that investment in this area can be a driver for the economy: the renewable energy sector accounted for 40% of the country’s GDP growth in 2023.
I am telling you this because I think it is important that we have an intelligent debate about this. Once again, my point is: investments in clean technologies are not only important for climate protection, but also because they are inevitably the technologies of the future. The question of how we secure our prosperity in the future is deeply connected to this issue.
Secondly, the question: How important are humanity and morality to us?
The very simple answer: these two things must be very important to us.
In future, however, democracies must be able to combine humanity and morality with control and order. And the most important point: all of this must be possible (and is possible) on the basis of applicable national and international law. We must abide by international law because we expect others to do the same.
In this context, I am very honest with you: On the issue of migration, all democratic parties in Germany must come together and they must offer something. If they do not, then those who want to undermine democracies already have supposed answers ready and they are ready to implement them.
The democratic center must offer something. Even uncomfortable solutions. Even when it comes to migration. Visible change is needed. People want to be taken seriously. I am campaigning for cooperation and agreements within the European Union and I am also campaigning for cooperation and agreements with countries outside of the EU. Above all, legal migration must always be made possible through humanitarian quotas.
Thirdly, how can we preserve our democracy and who are our partners on the world stage?
To answer the first part of the question relatively simply: We need to keep talking to each other.
Nothing is worse for a democracy than when we stop talking to each other. I believe that we are drifting in the wrong direction here. Discussions on social media and in real life are increasingly aimed at humiliating the other side. It’s no longer about understanding and empathy.
What the right and left fringes don’t understand: Through their abbreviated and polemical statements, they only make the respective other side stronger and this weakens the democratic center. The center of society is what we need to strengthen. A strong center includes different currents and opinions. Our society, our politics and our democracy only have a future if we take this center seriously.
And one word about our partners on the international stage. Of course, even with Donald Trump as the new president, the U.S. remains one of our most important allies. The same applies to Israel. And our partners are also and above all located in the European Union. The idea of the EU is a wonderful one: peace and free trade. We sometimes take that for granted. The prosperity that we have experienced in recent decades exists primarily because of the EU.
But we must also look to India, to Brazil, to Indonesia. We must not judge from our high horse and only talk to those who we believe share our values.
My speech began with the topic of identity and it ends with it. We must set ourselves the task of answering the question of who we want to be in the future. A great economic nation? A driver of innovation? A country of immigration? A role model for other countries? I believe it is possible for us to be a little bit of all of these things.
In order to achieve this, we need to be honest with each other and be able to say that we have a few years of change and transformation ahead of us. The question of how we earn money to maintain and improve our standard of living is a crucial one.
I look to the future with confidence. I believe our country is keen to set the course for the future. Let's get to work.