In all of my encounters with voters, I have repeatedly been confronted with two points of critique. First: You politicians are all the same! Second: You politicians may be speaking German, but we still don't understand you!

Referendums have always posed a threat when it comes to EU policy, because EU policy is complicated. They're an opportunity for those from all political camps who like to oversimplify things.

The Social Democrats have to listen to people who are attracted to the AfD party. That isn't a mistake at all. You can also win them back. Of course, there are a lot of angry voters who are ideologically charged. But there are also a lot of quieter voters who plan on voting AfD to send a message. We can never give up on them.

Germany is not a fair country. Millions of people believe that things aren't fair in this country. Company profits and bonus payments have increased at the same rate as precarious employment situations.

In political life, it is extremely difficult to remain loyal to a friendship when constellations of power or interests are in the way.

Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we have an excellent, high-performing SME sector. But if we want things to continue to go well into the future, then we have to break up the antiquated structures in some areas and really modernize.

I firmly believe that the inequity [in society] is enormous. The people have the feeling that you are allowed to do anything if you are rich. But if you're poor, you have to pay. We [Europeans] have to counter this.