1 00:00:00,659 --> 00:00:03,620 >> PRESIDENT: Please, Mr. Lauer 2 00:00:03,620 --> 00:00:07,620 (Pause) 3 00:00:07,620 --> 00:00:10,130 >> LAUER: Yes, how much time do I have left? 18:01, great. 4 00:00:10,130 --> 00:00:11,900 >> PRESIDENT: Ten minutes. 5 00:00:11,900 --> 00:00:16,100 >> LAUER: Dear Mrs President, ladies and gentlemen, 6 00:00:16,100 --> 00:00:16,840 dear Mr Wowereit (he is the mayor of Berlin) 7 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,630 In Andreas' last speech he shed light on the programmatic aspect of the government policy address, 8 00:00:20,630 --> 00:00:25,619 and I would like to rise to speak in order to explain some things that are 9 00:00:25,619 --> 00:00:30,109 of a more general nature. The pirate parliamentary group has been part of this house since September of last year, 10 00:00:30,109 --> 00:00:34,750 and after the euphoria and avowals at the beginning on behalf of the parties 11 00:00:34,750 --> 00:00:39,460 that have already been part of the house to change their style of politics, 12 00:00:39,460 --> 00:00:42,190 the daily grind seems to have creeped back in. 13 00:00:42,190 --> 00:00:47,260 I can understand your hope that we will adapt to you rather than have you adapt to us, 14 00:00:47,260 --> 00:00:53,129 but such black and white logic falls short. The entrance of the pirate party 15 00:00:53,129 --> 00:00:57,609 into the Berlin state parliament marks a break. With us, a political party has entered, 16 00:00:57,609 --> 00:01:02,559 whose members are socialized by new media and the internet. That's 17 00:01:02,559 --> 00:01:07,420 a matter of fact you have to accept, if you want to understand our surprise and displeasure 18 00:01:07,420 --> 00:01:13,520 regarding the events of this parliament. We grew up in a world that offered everyone, 19 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,500 who wanted to enter it, a neutral platform for free development of the individual. Of course, 20 00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:22,840 this world - the internet - involves dangers, but name me just one place where that isn't applicable. 21 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:28,600 We perceived the chances of the internet to be greater. And the equality of opportunity 22 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,820 in the physical world, which is addressed in many election programs and this government statement, 23 00:01:32,820 --> 00:01:38,590 is realized in the internet. Because there, indeed, 24 00:01:38,590 --> 00:01:42,640 no one cares where you come from, what gender you have or what religion 25 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:48,420 you belong to. You just have to convince by what you do. Such 26 00:01:48,420 --> 00:01:55,100 a parallel society - and I'm using this term intentionally at this point - is becoming 27 00:01:55,100 --> 00:01:58,910 even more important in this moment, in which more and more citizens of our society are ignored 28 00:01:58,910 --> 00:02:04,930 by the social system or don't want to be pressed in existing social conventions. 29 00:02:04,930 --> 00:02:10,070 The pirates don't represent the schools' darlings, but instead 30 00:02:10,070 --> 00:02:14,280 the Nerds, the outsiders; those that weren't invited 31 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:19,450 to the parties during their time in school; those that did not stand in the middle of the community *heckling sarcastically, pretending compassion.* 32 00:02:19,450 --> 00:02:26,970 Yes, and a short while ago you talked about solidarity, and now you say 'Aww' at something like this; you should be 33 00:02:26,970 --> 00:02:34,500 ashamed of yourselves! We had to find (....) - Unfortunally I've forgotten my cress. 34 00:02:34,500 --> 00:02:38,050 If I had packed it, you could have collected it here and then 35 00:02:38,050 --> 00:02:44,250 "hold the cress." (A term that could be loosely translated as "shut up".) 36 00:02:44,250 --> 00:02:48,610 Because of the internet we are at the eye of the storm of a process involving all of society, 37 00:02:48,610 --> 00:02:53,570 the end of which we can not see yet. The social change, 38 00:02:53,570 --> 00:02:55,050 caused by the internet as a technology (...) 39 00:02:55,050 --> 00:02:58,870 >> PRESIDENT: Mr Lauer, a second, excuse me. Ladies and Gentlemen, interjections are one thing 40 00:02:58,870 --> 00:03:03,730 but a constant level of noise another. Please let the speaker be. 41 00:03:03,730 --> 00:03:10,730 >> LAUER: I'm coming to the point. Because of the internet we are at the eye 42 00:03:10,730 --> 00:03:15,880 of the storm of a process involving all of society, the end of which we can not see 43 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,270 yet. The social change caused by the internet as a technology 44 00:03:20,270 --> 00:03:24,819 is noticeable, and we shouldn't let the chance go by to shape that change. 45 00:03:24,819 --> 00:03:30,319 The internet ruthlessly changes the paradigms of the 19th and the 20th century. 46 00:03:30,319 --> 00:03:36,340 What is knowledge, what is work, what are qualifications in a world that offers me all information 47 00:03:36,340 --> 00:03:40,600 by the push of a button? At best we are engaging with the 48 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:45,459 symptoms of a changing world. But we have to start to engage 49 00:03:45,459 --> 00:03:50,100 with the causes. At the same time we can't react with solutions from the 20th century 50 00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:53,790 to the problems of the 21st century. 51 00:03:53,790 --> 00:03:59,120 In the meantime the internet can do more. It is not just Google and eBay, but also the 52 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,680 democratic participation of many. As a parliament we can not ignore the technological leaps of the 53 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:09,690 last years. The problem is that this house does not reward innovation. 54 00:04:09,690 --> 00:04:14,750 But why should it, since it itself is about continuity, and in the moment when 149 persons 55 00:04:14,750 --> 00:04:20,780 as elected representatives substitute 3.5 million citizens of Berlin, 56 00:04:20,780 --> 00:04:26,930 it is about a reduction of complexity. Yes, and it is about power. In the moment in which this 57 00:04:26,930 --> 00:04:33,060 house decides the citizens' involvement in the political process, 58 00:04:33,060 --> 00:04:36,660 it is about the fear to abolish itself. 59 00:04:36,660 --> 00:04:43,090 But fear not: We abolished ourselves quite some time ago already. 60 00:04:43,090 --> 00:04:48,430 Because what does your government policy address really mean, Mr Wowereit? It was you who 61 00:04:48,430 --> 00:04:52,669 declared today what is supposed to happen during the next 5 years. How is it going to come about? Through 62 00:04:52,669 --> 00:04:57,230 laws. Who decides on those laws? This house. But: Where are these laws written? 63 00:04:57,230 --> 00:05:02,300 Who of the present representatives is Mr or Mrs "drafted-by-consultant"? Where 64 00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:07,270 is this consultant sitting? He sits in the administration. It is a sad reality that this house is not 65 00:05:07,270 --> 00:05:11,850 fullfilling its constitutional task 66 00:05:11,850 --> 00:05:17,720 to generate laws out of its midst. It will be sad reality that over the next 67 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:23,110 5 years every change will come out of the Senate, 68 00:05:23,110 --> 00:05:26,720 and every change will be nodded through by the (ruling) coalition, with them grinding their teeth or not. 69 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:31,350 And the opposition will cry. And the opposition will make suggestions, and the coalition will cry. At this point 70 00:05:31,350 --> 00:05:36,949 I explicitly speak to the backbenchers in the parliamentary groups: Did you imagine it this way, 71 00:05:36,949 --> 00:05:41,139 is this worth for you? To nod through what Mr or Mrs drafted-by-consultant wrote in some 72 00:05:41,139 --> 00:05:45,550 senate administration for five years? The free mandate, anchored in the constitution, 73 00:05:45,550 --> 00:05:53,090 is becoming a maculation in the state parliament week in week out. And who in here has the 74 00:05:53,090 --> 00:05:56,610 backbone left to disagree with his or her parliamentary group in public 75 00:05:56,610 --> 00:06:02,070 This toeing of the parliamentary party line, which again toes the Senate line 76 00:06:02,070 --> 00:06:06,979 is a danger for democracy. When we are talking here about the dangers of lobbyism and more 77 00:06:06,979 --> 00:06:11,870 transparency in this house we misjudge that the lobbyist comes to those 78 00:06:11,870 --> 00:06:16,790 writing the law, not to those nodding the law through. 79 00:06:16,790 --> 00:06:21,479 There are not debates taking place in this house anymore, but a Punch and Judy show, 80 00:06:21,479 --> 00:06:27,110 the roles divided by coalition and opposition. There is a concentration of power at the Senate 81 00:06:27,110 --> 00:06:32,630 taking place that is not healthy. In the light of the challenges facing the City of Berlin it is noteworthy 82 00:06:32,630 --> 00:06:37,990 that we, as representatives, only obliged to our conscience, 83 00:06:37,990 --> 00:06:42,960 put up with this. The solution is just as simple as radical: The state constitution 84 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:49,240 says in ยง 59 section 2: "bills can be contributed by the middle of the parliament, 85 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:54,330 by the senate or by public initiative". Let's remove 86 00:06:54,330 --> 00:07:00,199 "by the senate". Let's provide the members of this parliament 87 00:07:00,199 --> 00:07:05,650 with the authority to write laws, so that real 88 00:07:05,650 --> 00:07:11,240 debates are taking place in this house - relevant and cross-party. Try 89 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:15,500 to imagine how motivating it can be, if you put 90 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:19,240 a bill through after a hard debate, on which you worked on with much blood, sweat and tears. 91 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:24,850 But of course I know: this is just wishful thinking. After my speech 92 00:07:24,850 --> 00:07:29,150 you will argue with enough reasons to explain why the system that 93 00:07:29,150 --> 00:07:33,360 we have for over 50 years now is good and must be continued. You will 94 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:37,550 in particular explain to yourselves that you play an important role in what 95 00:07:37,550 --> 00:07:42,550 is taking place in this house. And even if what I just said should have reached you, 96 00:07:42,550 --> 00:07:47,090 you will not be bold enough to discuss it within your parliamentary group, 97 00:07:47,090 --> 00:07:51,620 within your party. During our election campaign we had a billboard with the slogan "Why am I hanging here, 98 00:07:51,620 --> 00:07:55,820 you're not going to vote anyway?". Similarly you could put up one over this console 99 00:07:55,820 --> 00:08:00,039 with the headline: "Why am I talking here, I know how you are going to vote 100 00:08:00,039 --> 00:08:07,169 anyway?". The Pirate Party's success is also the result of a crisis of trust in 101 00:08:07,169 --> 00:08:12,320 our representative parliamentary system. The Citizens of Berlin 102 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:18,009 wouldn't be demanding more participation if they felt they were 103 00:08:18,009 --> 00:08:23,350 being represented adequately in here. Has nobody here ever asked himself 104 00:08:23,350 --> 00:08:28,430 the question, why people, to whom electricity comes out of walls and money out of 105 00:08:28,430 --> 00:08:31,949 ATMs, suddenly are interested in political participation? 106 00:08:31,949 --> 00:08:37,189 If we want to convince the people of Berlin that the democratic 107 00:08:37,189 --> 00:08:42,469 representational system is necessary, then we should all start very quickly to provide 108 00:08:42,469 --> 00:08:47,649 reasons for it. With a business as usual intention it will not work at all. 109 00:08:47,649 --> 00:08:49,829 Thank you very much. 110 00:08:49,829 --> 99:59:59,999 >>PRESIDENT: Thank you.