0:00:00.659,0:00:03.620 >> PRESIDENT: Please, Mr. Lauer 0:00:03.620,0:00:07.620 (Pause) 0:00:07.620,0:00:10.130 >> LAUER: Yes, how much time do I have left? 18:01, great. 0:00:10.130,0:00:11.900 >> PRESIDENT: Ten minutes. 0:00:11.900,0:00:16.100 >> LAUER: Dear Mrs President, ladies and gentlemen, 0:00:16.100,0:00:16.840 dear Mr Wowereit (he is the mayor of Berlin) 0:00:16.840,0:00:20.630 In Andreas' last speech he shed light on the programmatic aspect of the government policy address, 0:00:20.630,0:00:25.619 and I would like to rise to speak in order to explain some things that are 0:00:25.619,0:00:30.109 of a more general nature. The pirate parliamentary group has been part of this house since September of last year, 0:00:30.109,0:00:34.750 and after the euphoria and avowals at the beginning on behalf of the parties 0:00:34.750,0:00:39.460 that have already been part of the house to change their style of politics, 0:00:39.460,0:00:42.190 the daily grind seems to have creeped back in. 0:00:42.190,0:00:47.260 I can understand your hope that we will adapt to you rather than have you adapt to us, 0:00:47.260,0:00:53.129 but such black and white logic falls short. The entrance of the pirate party 0:00:53.129,0:00:57.609 into the Berlin state parliament marks a break. With us, a political party has entered, 0:00:57.609,0:01:02.559 whose members are socialized by new media and the internet. That's 0:01:02.559,0:01:07.420 a matter of fact you have to accept, if you want to understand our surprise and displeasure 0:01:07.420,0:01:13.520 regarding the events of this parliament. We grew up in a world that offered everyone, 0:01:13.520,0:01:17.500 who wanted to enter it, a neutral platform for free development of the individual. Of course, 0:01:17.500,0:01:22.840 this world - the internet - involves dangers, but name me just one place where that isn't applicable. 0:01:22.840,0:01:28.600 We perceived the chances of the internet to be greater. And the equality of opportunity 0:01:28.600,0:01:32.820 in the physical world, which is addressed in many election programs and this government statement, 0:01:32.820,0:01:38.590 is realized in the internet. Because there, indeed, 0:01:38.590,0:01:42.640 no one cares where you come from, what gender you have or what religion 0:01:42.640,0:01:48.420 you belong to. You just have to convince by what you do. Such 0:01:48.420,0:01:55.100 a parallel society - and I'm using this term intentionally at this point - is becoming 0:01:55.100,0:01:58.910 even more important in this moment, in which more and more citizens of our society are ignored 0:01:58.910,0:02:04.930 by the social system or don't want to be pressed in existing social conventions. 0:02:04.930,0:02:10.070 The pirates don't represent the schools' darlings, but instead 0:02:10.070,0:02:14.280 the Nerds, the outsiders; those that weren't invited 0:02:14.280,0:02:19.450 to the parties during their time in school; those that did not stand in the middle of the community *heckling sarcastically, pretending compassion.* 0:02:19.450,0:02:26.970 Yes, and a short while ago you talked about solidarity, and now you say 'Aww' at something like this; you should be 0:02:26.970,0:02:34.500 ashamed of yourselves! We had to find (....) - Unfortunally I've forgotten my cress. 0:02:34.500,0:02:38.050 If I had packed it, you could have collected it here and then 0:02:38.050,0:02:44.250 "hold the cress." (A term that could be loosely translated as "shut up".) 0:02:44.250,0:02:48.610 Because of the internet we are at the eye of the storm of a process involving all of society, 0:02:48.610,0:02:53.570 the end of which we can not see yet. The social change, 0:02:53.570,0:02:55.050 caused by the internet as a technology (...) 0:02:55.050,0:02:58.870 >> PRESIDENT: Mr Lauer, a second, excuse me. Ladies and Gentlemen, interjections are one thing 0:02:58.870,0:03:03.730 but a constant level of noise another. Please let the speaker be. 0:03:03.730,0:03:10.730 >> LAUER: I'm coming to the point. Because of the internet we are at the eye 0:03:10.730,0:03:15.880 of the storm of a process involving all of society, the end of which we can not see 0:03:15.880,0:03:20.270 yet. The social change caused by the internet as a technology 0:03:20.270,0:03:24.819 is noticeable, and we shouldn't let the chance go by to shape that change. 0:03:24.819,0:03:30.319 The internet ruthlessly changes the paradigms of the 19th and the 20th century. 0:03:30.319,0:03:36.340 What is knowledge, what is work, what are qualifications in a world that offers me all information 0:03:36.340,0:03:40.600 by the push of a button? At best we are engaging with the 0:03:40.600,0:03:45.459 symptoms of a changing world. But we have to start to engage 0:03:45.459,0:03:50.100 with the causes. At the same time we can't react with solutions from the 20th century 0:03:50.100,0:03:53.790 to the problems of the 21st century. 0:03:53.790,0:03:59.120 In the meantime the internet can do more. It is not just Google and eBay, but also the 0:03:59.120,0:04:03.680 democratic participation of many. As a parliament we can not ignore the technological leaps of the 0:04:03.680,0:04:09.690 last years. The problem is that this house does not reward innovation. 0:04:09.690,0:04:14.750 But why should it, since it itself is about continuity, and in the moment when 149 persons 0:04:14.750,0:04:20.780 as elected representatives substitute 3.5 million citizens of Berlin, 0:04:20.780,0:04:26.930 it is about a reduction of complexity. Yes, and it is about power. In the moment in which this 0:04:26.930,0:04:33.060 house decides the citizens' involvement in the political process, 0:04:33.060,0:04:36.660 it is about the fear to abolish itself. 0:04:36.660,0:04:43.090 But fear not: We abolished ourselves quite some time ago already. 0:04:43.090,0:04:48.430 Because what does your government policy address really mean, Mr Wowereit? It was you who 0:04:48.430,0:04:52.669 declared today what is supposed to happen during the next 5 years. How is it going to come about? Through 0:04:52.669,0:04:57.230 laws. Who decides on those laws? This house. But: Where are these laws written? 0:04:57.230,0:05:02.300 Who of the present representatives is Mr or Mrs "drafted-by-consultant"? Where 0:05:02.300,0:05:07.270 is this consultant sitting? He sits in the administration. It is a sad reality that this house is not 0:05:07.270,0:05:11.850 fullfilling its constitutional task 0:05:11.850,0:05:17.720 to generate laws out of its midst. It will be sad reality that over the next 0:05:17.720,0:05:23.110 5 years every change will come out of the Senate, 0:05:23.110,0:05:26.720 and every change will be nodded through by the (ruling) coalition, with them grinding their teeth or not. 0:05:26.720,0:05:31.350 And the opposition will cry. And the opposition will make suggestions, and the coalition will cry. At this point 0:05:31.350,0:05:36.949 I explicitly speak to the backbenchers in the parliamentary groups: Did you imagine it this way, 0:05:36.949,0:05:41.139 is this worth for you? To nod through what Mr or Mrs drafted-by-consultant wrote in some 0:05:41.139,0:05:45.550 senate administration for five years? The free mandate, anchored in the constitution, 0:05:45.550,0:05:53.090 is becoming a maculation in the state parliament week in week out. And who in here has the 0:05:53.090,0:05:56.610 backbone left to disagree with his or her parliamentary group in public 0:05:56.610,0:06:02.070 This toeing of the parliamentary party line, which again toes the Senate line 0:06:02.070,0:06:06.979 is a danger for democracy. When we are talking here about the dangers of lobbyism and more 0:06:06.979,0:06:11.870 transparency in this house we misjudge that the lobbyist comes to those 0:06:11.870,0:06:16.790 writing the law, not to those nodding the law through. 0:06:16.790,0:06:21.479 There are not debates taking place in this house anymore, but a Punch and Judy show, 0:06:21.479,0:06:27.110 the roles divided by coalition and opposition. There is a concentration of power at the Senate 0:06:27.110,0:06:32.630 taking place that is not healthy. In the light of the challenges facing the City of Berlin it is noteworthy 0:06:32.630,0:06:37.990 that we, as representatives, only obliged to our conscience, 0:06:37.990,0:06:42.960 put up with this. The solution is just as simple as radical: The state constitution 0:06:42.960,0:06:49.240 says in ยง 59 section 2: "bills can be contributed by the middle of the parliament, 0:06:49.240,0:06:54.330 by the senate or by public initiative". Let's remove 0:06:54.330,0:07:00.199 "by the senate". Let's provide the members of this parliament 0:07:00.199,0:07:05.650 with the authority to write laws, so that real 0:07:05.650,0:07:11.240 debates are taking place in this house - relevant and cross-party. Try 0:07:11.240,0:07:15.500 to imagine how motivating it can be, if you put 0:07:15.500,0:07:19.240 a bill through after a hard debate, on which you worked on with much blood, sweat and tears. 0:07:19.240,0:07:24.850 But of course I know: this is just wishful thinking. After my speech 0:07:24.850,0:07:29.150 you will argue with enough reasons to explain why the system that 0:07:29.150,0:07:33.360 we have for over 50 years now is good and must be continued. You will 0:07:33.360,0:07:37.550 in particular explain to yourselves that you play an important role in what 0:07:37.550,0:07:42.550 is taking place in this house. And even if what I just said should have reached you, 0:07:42.550,0:07:47.090 you will not be bold enough to discuss it within your parliamentary group, 0:07:47.090,0:07:51.620 within your party. During our election campaign we had a billboard with the slogan "Why am I hanging here, 0:07:51.620,0:07:55.820 you're not going to vote anyway?". Similarly you could put up one over this console 0:07:55.820,0:08:00.039 with the headline: "Why am I talking here, I know how you are going to vote 0:08:00.039,0:08:07.169 anyway?". The Pirate Party's success is also the result of a crisis of trust in 0:08:07.169,0:08:12.320 our representative parliamentary system. The Citizens of Berlin 0:08:12.320,0:08:18.009 wouldn't be demanding more participation if they felt they were 0:08:18.009,0:08:23.350 being represented adequately in here. Has nobody here ever asked himself 0:08:23.350,0:08:28.430 the question, why people, to whom electricity comes out of walls and money out of 0:08:28.430,0:08:31.949 ATMs, suddenly are interested in political participation? 0:08:31.949,0:08:37.189 If we want to convince the people of Berlin that the democratic 0:08:37.189,0:08:42.469 representational system is necessary, then we should all start very quickly to provide 0:08:42.469,0:08:47.649 reasons for it. With a business as usual intention it will not work at all. 0:08:47.649,0:08:49.829 Thank you very much. 0:08:49.829,9:59:59.000 >>PRESIDENT: Thank you.