German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 19/239,
p. 31151.
Frau President. Ladies and gentlemen.
The flood in western Germany is, without a doubt, a once in
a century catastrophe. I myself have never before seen with my own eyes damages
on this scale. My dwelling is in the old town of Bad Münstereifel, directly on
the Erft. The house has remained standing; it is however in danger of collapse.
On the Saturday after the flood, my wife and I could save our household goods.
Whether and when we again are able to return to our home, we do not know.
Yet one thing I know for sure: When one’s own life is
affected, things appear more clearly than from the window of a state limousine.
I share our loss with thousands of countrymen in the region.Yet many have lost
far more than I. More than 180 people died in the flooding, 180 people who sat
in their living room, or wanted to haul stuff out of the cellar, or drive the
auto out of the underground garage, or even on the way home were carried away
in the street; 180 people who are now dead and who, despite the fact that they
are dead, have a claim, a claim to an answer to the question of the
responsibility for their death.
In Nordrhein-Westfalen, the flood has disclosed a failure of
the state. The Federal and State governments’ catastrophe and population
defense has failed on a gigantic scale. Alarms of the European Flood Warning
System were ignored, sirens were not activated, the threatened villages and
towns were evacuated much too late. That cost human lives.
The failures of the state are one thing; another is meantime
the occult reflex of the politics to shove these failures onto climate change.
Yes, the climate changes – as always. Yes, man must better deal with Nature –
fully right. But for the flood defense, for retention basins, for
reforestation, for digital warning systems, the Federal and State governments
are responsible, not the climate.
The protection of the population is the core duty of the
state and thereby the primary obligation of the Minister-president. Herr
Laschet ought to have warned and evacuated the people. That, he did not do. Herr
Laschet ought to have provided an infrastructure for the protection of villages
and towns. That, he did not do. Herr Laschet has left in the lurch the people
in Nordrhein-Westfalen. He has not protected the population.
Ladies and gentlemen, in all these failures of policy is
also to be seen a ray of light, and that is the people of our country. What I
have seen in the days following the flood in my home of the readiness to help
and the will to endure shows to me that our country has a future. I thank all
countrymen who have performed magnificently in the last months in my home
region. You will see: We will rebuild this country.
Thank you.
[trans: tem]
