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

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.

Insecurity and resignation mingle with the hope for a better order.

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.

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

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

I appeal to the responsibility of the blocs and the major powers, not to seek security in the arms race, but rather in a meeting for joint disarmament and arms limitations.