I have left the federal government and the German Bundestag; I have resigned from all my positions in the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

The secret of big and revolutionary actions also consists in discovering the tiny step that is simultaneously a strategic step, insofar as it entails additional steps in the direction of a better reality.

Some fatherlands are difficult. Germany is one of them. But it is our fatherland. Here is where we live and work.

One of our most noble political tasks is to open up trust.

Liberal democracy must finally become the vital element of our society.

Not less, but more democracy - that is the demand, that is the great goal that we have to prescribe for ourselves, and especially for our youth.

Everywhere, authority and tradition have to justify themselves in the face of questions.