German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/1,
pp. 1-2.
Herr President. Ladies and gentlemen.
Today a new Bundestag is constituted. For almost two hundred
years, it is a fixed parliamentary requirement that a so-called elder president
open this first sitting. That was always – out of respect for the elders – the oldest
of all the members. From the Frankfurter Paulskirche to the Parliament of the
Kaisers’ time, from the Weimar Republic to the re-united Germany, even well
into the time of the Merkel government, all Reichstags, all Bundestags adhered
to this rule.
In almost two hundred years, in only one parliament was it
dared to break with this tradition. That was – it needs be clearly said – 1933,
following the seizure of power with a President Hermann Göring. Shall that be
your model?
Marco Buschmann (FDP): This is the same speech!
I had already warned you of that in 2017. That is no good
tradition. Let us come back again to the way confirmed by all German democrats
for two hundred years.
Jan Korte (Linke): Göring, however, is your tradition!
Why do you again today want to break this rule? Yet it is
clear: Like four years ago, also today the oldest and most experienced member,
and thereby the legitimate elder president, comes from the ranks of the AfD.
Finally acknowledge that.
There is still no reason why you refuse. The eldest and most
experienced in this newly elected parliament is Alexander Gauland, over half a
century in German politics and in leading positions, 40 years of that in the
CDU, and in the past four years the strongest and most eloquent opposition
leader here in house, ladies and gentlemen.
You want to hinder the legitimate elder president Gauland.
You proceed exactly so in regards the office of Vice-president. And for many
years you deny to us an important, a central office which all other delegations
receive and according to the orders of business belongs also to the AfD. Both,
the denial of the elder president and the Vice-president, are not just a
disrespect of the AfD as a delegation of equal right here in house, worse still:
It is also a disrespect, a disparagement of millions of voters, an insult of
each individual, a mockery of democracy, ladies and gentlemen.
The governing and parliamentary majority’s relations with
the opposition indicate the state of a democracy. Actually, the EU Commission
needs to open a legal proceeding – not against Hungary, not against Poland,
ladies and gentlemen, but against Germany on account of an obvious and
continued injury to the opposition in this house.
We will subsequently see with the election of the
Vice-president how it further goes. With Michael Kaufmann, a very well known
college professor steps forward. Even the Linke Minister-president in Thüringen
voted for him, and not even Frau Merkel rescinded that.
[trans: tem]
