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Almost 30 years after reunification, the Eastern Commissioner of the Federal Government sees some progress. However, there are persistent differences between West and East, also when it comes to right-wing extremism.
Ahead of the presentation of this year’s report on the state of German unity, Federal Government East Commissioner Marco Wanderwitz (CDU) warns of growing right-wing extremism in eastern Germany.
Wanderwitz told the dpa news agency: “Unfortunately, it must be said that right-wing extremism in the new federal states has more supporters relative to the total population than in the case of the old federal states.” Right-wing extremism aggressively threatens democracy. Such ideas must not be allowed to spread to the next generation, Wanderwitz continues.
Call for greater civil dialogue
The parliamentary secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy also advocated for greater civil dialogue in the East: “We pay very little attention to concerns. We have deficits there, such as in political education or voluntary civic engagement. This is even more pronounced. in the old states. “
In April, Wanderwitz announced an initiative to better reach people. “Corona has delayed preparations for a citizen dialogue. But now we are very advanced in the preparations. I imagine events with 80 to 100 citizens. Actually, I do not want a digital format, but physical appointments.”
This should include face-to-face conversations. “We are planning citizen dialogue with me and with other political decision makers: members of the state parliament, state secretaries and ministers at the federal and state levels, mayors and district administrators,” Wanderwitz said.
“It is getting worse instead of better”
According to the Eastern Commissioner, this year’s report on the state of German unity sees significant progress in the process of economic recovery.
On the economic situation in the east and the equality of living conditions, he said: “I am free from illusions. There will always be certain differences. There are also differences in the former federal states, for example between the booming regions of southern Germany and Gelsenkirchen. or Duisburg “. The new federal states are regions that are on par with the west. Our assessment is that the issue of urban and rural areas and the issue of booming regions and structurally weak regions are increasingly dominant. You shouldn’t keep comparing apples to oranges. The new federal states are less populated and the demographics are worse. That is not an advantage. “
Wanderwitz is more concerned with differences in other areas than with demographic or economic developments. For example, when evaluating democracy and its institutions, attitudes towards something foreign, and the diffusion of far-right views: “This is a very big challenge because 30 years after unification, the new and old countries are considerably separated. getting worse instead of better. That’s a big problem. “
The balance of the unit is very positive
The annual report says that even if the differences are gradual in nature, they show that the process of internal unity in Germany is still not fully completed after 30 years. The Eastern Commissioner said that there was still a lot to do, but that the balance of the unit was largely positive.
“When we celebrate 30 years of German unity, I would be happy if we all said to each other: we have 30 years of peaceful revolution and German unity, we live in peace, freedom and prosperity in a united Europe. We have to regain the happiness of 1990 We have every reason to be grateful for what we have accomplished together. “
