German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/15,
pp. 1018-1019.
Frau President. Ladies and gentlemen. And, out of the given
occasion, here from the upper house: Right honorable Herr Max Otte, candidate
for the office of Federal President, the only candidate in no way located left,
but a bürgerlichen candidate for the
office of Federal President.
(Members of
the AfD rise.)
For us, the only electable candidate for the office of
Federal President, although he is since 1991 a member of the Christian Democratic
Union. Herr Otte, a hearty welcome, much success and before all many votes at
the Federal Assembly on February 13!
Ladies and gentlemen, “Dare more democracy”, that was on
October 28, 1969, an initially little noticed saying of Willi Brandt. “Dare
more democracy”, that belongs to us of the AfD not only as a saying but it is
the living DNA of our party. This conviction of ours, “dare more democracy”,
stretches like a blue thread through our work in the States. “Dare more
democracy” pertains to us, for example, in regards the demands for more direct
democracy, keyword “referendum” [Volksentschiede];
in regards our demand for terms limitation of the Federal Chancellor; in
regards the demand for the abolition of parliamentary secretaries, keyword “separation
of powers” [Gewaltenteilung]. Dare
more democracy, ladies and gentlemen, that also belongs to our draft law today
[Drucksache 20/198, 410] which foresees
at the time after next, that is, from the year 2027, directly electing the
Federal President.
According to our conceptions, what in many states is
self-evident should become possible. Each shall receive the opportunity to have
himself presented as a candidate if he gathers behind himself 0.5 percent of
eligible voters, and from the presented candidates will then be elected
directly. That would be a democratic leap forward, ladies and gentlemen,
supported by 70 percent of the German population. How nice: No more scheming in
backrooms, no consensus candidates of the German democratic delegations. The absolute
dominance of the parties would be broken, would be passé. An election campaign
would occur which could discover: Who stands for what?
Let yourself for once play out our fantasy of what could
here take place. We have on the one side, for example, one candidate, an
apparatchik, in his lifetime anyhow located on the left, from extreme to
presentable [salonfähig] – active for
a leftist newspaper, observed by the Constitution Defense, grunt worker, informer
for leftist functionaries, never won an election. Who would vote for such a
man, ladies and gentlemen?
Let yourself continue with our fantasy. We present an
opposition candidate, graduated from a top university in the United States –
let us say, Princeton – then professor at universities, at colleges, in the U.S.A.,
Austria and in Germany – let us say: for example, Boston, Worms, Graz – then not
drawn back to the actual official status, but a voluntary withdrawal from
public service, successful business man, author, speaker.
Kathrin
Vogler (Linke): Which makes clear who are your clientele!
Konstantin
Kuhle (FDP): All of no use!
For whom of these two candidates would the hearts of the people out there take flight, ladies and gentlemen? For me, the decision has in any case taken place.
So now we have multiple candidates, one of whom is more
promising, one of whom is less promising. It was also thus in regards the
election of the Chancellor that a fully unpromising candidate like, for
example, Frau Baerbock – she is just not sitting in the Foreign Minister’s
chair – then became Foreign Minister, and was invited to that. I now expect
from the public broadcasting, I must quite honestly say, that here yet again a
slobbering takes place. We have here three candidates: One from the total left,
one from the middle-left – the consensus candidate of the German democratic
delegations, as I previously said – and a candidate whom we of the AfD support,
who is located in the CDU. Dear CDU, here also we expect support from you.
Ladies and gentlemen, to make it possible that any citizen
from the people can become Federal President, our draft law is required. “Dare
more democracy” – let us begin at the top of the state! Do what Willi Brandt
would also do today: Please vote in favor of our draft law.
Many thanks.
[trans: tem]
