The Global Ethic Lectures in Tübingen
Seventh
Global Ethic Lecture
8 May 2007
Helmut Schmidt, Former Federal Chancellor
“On a politician's ethics”
“It would be a dangerous error to think of our real, existing democracy
as a pure ideal. But, secondly, we Germans – due to our catastrophic history – nonetheless
have every reason in the world to cling on to democracy with all our might, constantly
revitalising it and constantly standing up bravely to its enemies. Only when
we agree upon this will our national anthem, with its ‘Unity and Justice
and Freedom’, be justifiable.”
