On the anniversary of the unification of the former West and East Germany, Germany’s leading politicians gathered in the city of Erfurt to encourage unity amid a range of challenges.
Germany’s celebrated its 32nd Unity Day on Monday. But this year, the tone of the festivities was more muted than in previous celebrations as the effects of the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis are felt more keenly across the country every day.
The national holiday marks when the formerly divided Germany became one country again in 1990.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived at the ceremony in Erfurt, the capital of the eastern state of Thuringia, looking gaunt and pale after recently recovering from COVID-19.
In a short speech, he recalled the words of former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, also a Social Democrat (SPD), who said that things “must grow together that belong together.” Scholz also sought to assuage worries about a looming energy crisis, promising continued government involvement to protect consumers as much as possible.
Like Scholz, Bundestag President Bärbel Bas used the occasion to call for solidarity in trying times.
“Since 1990, we Germans have overcome many crises and upheavals,” she said. “The most important reason for that was and is: We stick together!”
Bas acknowledged that “the celebrations come at a difficult time this year,” as inflation nears 10%.
“The consequences of the war in Ukraine and of climate change are causing many people to worry,” she said, but added, “How we treat one another shows the strength of our country. We have to look after each other.”
Bas counseled Germany’s political parties not to pick fights and instead to work together in trying times.