We have to recognize that the freedom of the individual has to be protected not only from the power of the state, but even more so from economic and societal power.

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

We have to recognize that the freedom of the individual has to be protected not only from the power of the state, but even more so from economic and societal power.

The first thing I see is the obligation to serve peace.

War is not the quintessential emergency in which man has to prove himself, as my generation learned at its school desks in the days of the Kaiser; rather, peace is the emergency in which we all have to prove ourselves.

Trust cannot be commanded; and yet it is also correct that the only one who earns trust is the one who is prepared to grant trust.

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