German president warns democracy faces new challenges

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday gave a speech at a state ceremony in Berlin to mark 75 years since the establishment of Germany's constitution, or Basic Law, warning that the democratic principles it enshrines are under pressure.

His remarks on the importance of the rule of law and democracy for a peaceful society come as cases of violence against German politicians and politically motivated crimes are on the rise.

Some 1,000 police officers were deployed to ensure security at the event. 

What did the president say?

In his speech, Steinmeier said that democracy in Germany was a success but was not perpetually guaranteed.

"At present, there are forces gathering strength here as well that want to undermine and weaken it, that despise its institutions and insult and denigrate its representatives," he said.

"We all bear responsibility for a political culture that is compatible with democracy," he said, saying that violence as a means of expressing political opinions had to be resolutely banned.

Steinmeier said that people had to realize that they were living in a "radically changed reality."

"After decades of more prosperity, more democracy, more Europe, more freedom, the success of German reunification, we are now experiencing an epochal transformation," he said, adding that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had brought war back to Europe.

He said that Germany was facing "rough and harder years" but called for courage in confronting the new challenges,

"The answer cannot and should not be faintheartedness and self-doubt," he said, adding that it would be just as wrong to constantly "evoke the collapse of our country."

"We have to assert ourselves — with realism and ambition," he said. A strong society knows the value of freedom, he said.

What is Germany's Basic Law?

The Basic Law came into effect in on May 23, 1949, in what was then West Germany.

It was called "Basic Law" (German: Grundgesetz) to indicate that it was a provisional piece of legislation pending the reunification of East and West Germany, which then happened in 1990.

Its first section guarantees fundamental rights, with the first sentence being: "Human dignity shall be inviolable."

That first line was drafted in response to the unprecedented crimes of Nazi Germany, a country responsible both for World War II and the Holocaust: the murder of 6 million Jews and many others throughout Europe.

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tj/rt (dpa, epd, KNA)