The dangerous glorification of the nation state, and the baiting of minorities that goes along with it, releases an anti-democratic energy.

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!

If we no longer judge the content of people's actions, but merely their form, then we are entering dangerous times indeed.

Political leaders need to formulate long-term EU goals that show: Yes, we want to stay together.

There are surely people in London who would love to play us off against each other. That would be disastrous for the EU.

Following the attacks in Paris, French President François Hollande has a completely different set of concerns. France needs more police, more security personnel and a greater emphasis on integration. He says that security is more important than the Stability Pact.

Ms. Merkel's attempt to present herself as a Social Democrat was a clever move. But it's not working anymore. The divisions between the CDU and CSU have simply become too great for that.