Commentary by Prof. Dr. Michael Buback //
The evening TV news has not been easy to bear for some time now. It works better with a schnapps before, during or immediately after the program. Shouldn't many things in Germany and the world be better after decades and centuries of experience? Or are people not as good and willing to learn as we would like and hope? We consider democracy to be the best form of government. Is it because of the democrats appointed to leadership positions by political parties that we are dissatisfied? It is worrying to see the extraordinary amount of power that lies in the hands of very few people who can rule in a similar way to rulers in the old days. Politicians who have just reached the highest office always declare that they are committed to the good of all. Unfortunately, things often turn out differently, and the citizens as a whole, who are referred to as the sovereign, have to hope that things don't get too bad.
Why do well-meaning, kind and knowledgeable people rarely reach leading positions? Do they not even aspire to such positions? Presumably they would also find it difficult to hold their own on the national and international stage.
The election to the German Bundestag is coming up after it became clear to the leading politicians that things could not go on as before. Large sections of the population had recognized this for some time. Contrary to some complaints about the extreme strain in top offices, the three people who failed to successfully govern during the planned legislative period are standing for election again, two of them even as candidates for chancellor.
Citizens are concerned to learn that the Federal Chancellor, who represents our country in a prominent position worldwide, has a poor memory. Doesn't he often have to remember a lot of things? On the other hand, no one should be discredited because of a weakness. It would only be desirable for high-ranking individuals with a spotty memory to make short notes or have them made after meetings so that they can quickly and easily recall the content of previous discussions.
Not all shortcomings that fall within the remit of politics should be blamed on the government that has just collapsed. The uncontrolled immigration of asylum seekers took place before its time. The shutdown of nuclear energy also has a long history. Banning tried-and-tested solutions at the very beginning of a transformation, in reliance on desirable, usually idealized alternatives, as has been deplored in several areas, does not appear to make sense. Although this can increase the pressure to push through a politically desired solution, new strategies should only be propagated as having no alternative if the additional measures required have been taken beforehand. In the case of nuclear energy, this means that the number and size of gas-fired power plants required to provide the base load should already be built before established energy-supplying plants are shut down. Of course there are arguments against nuclear energy, but solar and wind can only provide a small part of the required base load. It irritates citizens when photovoltaics and wind turbines supply more energy than required on good days, which is then sold to neighboring countries at low prices, and in some cases even paid for, while energy has to be purchased at considerable cost during dark periods when there is little wind. The problem of final disposal is cited as an argument against the limited continued use of some nuclear power plants. However, there are already large quantities of radioactive waste from decades of use, which would hardly increase dramatically if some nuclear reactors were to continue to be used for a limited period. Problems therefore result from the hesitant, so far unsuccessful search for a final repository. In any case, it is inconsistent to shut down nuclear plants but import "nuclear power". Replacing nuclear reactors with coal-fired power plants is also not a viable option due to the CO2-load is counterproductive.
The desire to use green hydrogen as an energy source and storage medium is attractive and tempting. Water is produced and no CO2. However, powerful energy sources also have side effects. Anyone who has experienced the explosive combination of hydrogen with the ubiquitous oxygen in an oxyhydrogen reaction will know that this type of use must be introduced very carefully, although extensive experience already exists in the field of industrial production and handling. The costs must also be considered. In the steel industry, I have heard that hydrogen was used in some cases years ago, but this approach was abandoned for financial reasons. Today, the hope is that by setting an example, other countries will be persuaded to adopt climate-friendly strategies, i.e. to prefer a more expensive approach - at least for the time being. This hope does not seem very justified to me.
Christmas 2024 was darkened by the horrific rampage in Magdeburg. It's terrible what some people do to others. Is it also because we are confronted with atrocities every day, flooded with them as it were? Not a day goes by without television offering at least three crime films that are not content with minor crimes. They should be murders that are solved in a maximum of 90 minutes of airtime. The reality is different. For example, of the 34 murders attributed to the RAF, only one case has been solved decades later, although the victim's wife observed the crime and the perpetrator through a crack in the door. As a relative of a terror victim, I am astonished when the current Federal Minister of the Interior declares that every stone will be turned over to solve the crime. She heads the same ministry that denied the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court - in the trial against a woman accused of being the perpetrator of the Karlsruhe attack - full access to a document that is still in state custody without the approximately twelve-line redacted passage. My request to several federal ministers to be allowed to inspect this document was rejected with reference to § 96 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, according to which disclosure of the contents of a document would be detrimental to the welfare of the federal government or a German state. Wouldn't it be good if government agencies refrained from activities that subsequently had to be concealed? On the other hand, information that I consider worthy of protection, such as the announcement of the year in which the Bundeswehr is expected to be "ready for war", is made public. Why then is a criminal court not allowed to receive the document about a woman accused of murder without redaction? What is so much more important than clarifying the murder of a federal prosecutor and his two companions? Is it the now established fact that a former RAF terrorist was a secret informant of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and that the management of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office obviously knew this? The situation in the Stuttgart trial was downright absurd: a person who was an informant of the domestic secret service and had been promised protection by the state was accused of murder by another state agency, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office. Clarification is not to be expected in this situation. However, if terrorist crimes are not solved and the criminals are not punished, this could encourage terrorists to commit further crimes. The disturbingly high level of interest in perpetrators can tempt people who are already prepared to use violence to commit serious crimes, but also to publicize them.
In addition to personal well-being, especially health, the private and national economic situation is important to citizens. The much-described decline of the German economy is viewed with great concern. It leads to the question of whether the unfavorable development of the economy really has nothing to do with the minister in office so far, making him a desirable candidate for chancellor?
The decline in the education sector is also depressing. This trend is also difficult to reverse, if at all, and only in the long term. For years, surveys on the educational level of pupils in relevant subjects have been alarming. Effective countermeasures are hardly recognizable. It remains unclear, for example, how schools are to be put in a position to educate bright and motivated children and young people. Ministries of education are obviously not among the authorities whose leadership positions are jostled for by parties in coalition negotiations. It is also irritating when school starters are wished "lots of fun" in their new phase of life over several newspaper pages. After all, fun is not a key feature of good school teaching and teachers should be role models, not fun makers. Rather, they should convey the joy of learning and of linking acquired knowledge as well as the ability to understand more complicated texts. The "work-life balance" is propagated as if work and life were in competition. After all, isn't working in a professional field that suits one's abilities a valuable purpose in life? People worry that politicians are not very interested in providing young people with a good education. Critical citizens are also exhausting with their questions, objections and doubts. Adults are also constantly exposed to time-consuming temptations that keep them from thinking. Anyone who achieves outstanding performances in show business or sport and manages to keep millions of people glued to the screen for hours on end is valued and highly paid. Major sporting events follow one another like a string of pearls. The time consumed by internet research is also a factor, and you have to reckon with incoming emails day and night. Answers are usually expected promptly.
Despite some reservations about political action, it should be borne in mind that there are sometimes difficult decisions to be made that no politician can envy. Of course, I would like to see the world's conflicts resolved through negotiation, which will have to be taken at some point anyway. Measures that lead to an escalation spiral with the use of increasingly destructive weapons are worrying, especially when an opponent has nuclear weapons and it cannot be ruled out that these could be used later. In order to avoid the greatest possible damage, the benevolent insight of state leaders with very great power is needed. But is this hope justified? The procedure practiced in the Vatican for centuries to reach important decisions does not seem to be applicable. There, when a new pope is elected, the relevant personalities in the conclave are shielded from the outside world and left in this isolation until they have found a solution and signaled this with white smoke. As there is no corresponding path to peace or at least a ceasefire, hundreds of armed and unarmed people continue to die every day and thousands suffer immeasurable hardship.
Why can I think of so many things that could be improved? I would like to look to the future with confidence and positivity. But the overall picture is worrying. Fortunately, there are also positive things to be found. I am very grateful for the long period of peace in Germany and Western Europe, the opportunity to continue traveling without having to cross borders and obtain money in many different currencies. This great gift is threatened by the rise of nationalist aspirations in some countries, but we still have it, and we would do well to preserve and promote the cohesion of European countries to the best of our ability.
Guest author Michael Buback (*1945) is Professor of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Göttingen. He is the son of Siegfried Buback, the Federal Prosecutor General who was murdered by the Red Army Faction in 1977. Since the publication of his book The second death of my father (2008), Buback is considered one of the most prominent critics of various German security authorities in the investigation of RAF terror. He has also made a name for himself internationally in the field of polymer chemistry with his scientific work.
Buback was a guest speaker at the 1st Congress of Clear Words in November 2023. You can watch the recording in the CdkW media library here.
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21 Responses
Thank you, Mr. Langemann, for having the courage to still allow public comments. For some time now, this no longer seems to be possible, as even mourning pages at the Münchner Merkur subject their mourning candles to a cross-check and are only released after verification. The fact that Apolut, for example, no longer allows comments is regrettable.
The issues that Mr. Buback raises are generally known, unfortunately it is also just a complaint about the situation.
The fact that Germany is in this situation probably has to do with the EU and its opaque and, in my opinion, undemocratic structures. In addition, there is a language regulation, mostly in English, which is not spoken fluently by most Europeans.
The joke is that the country in question is not even a member of the EU. Perhaps this is where the roots of an increasingly less accepted EU lie. We should at least understand which regulations we are being overburdened with.
Prof. Buback, I would have liked to see a little more foresight from a man in your position. When a political system is so obviously working towards the ruin of the citizens living in it, a little psychologizing is certainly not the appropriate way to analyse it. Open your eyes and see the connections. And they have absolutely nothing to do with the human qualities of the political actors. This is about the interests of the really big players on this planet, who are calling the shots in a country that still has no peace treaty. And, of course, with a supposedly democratic system in which election promises are worth less than the assurances of a trickster. If a system is already built in such a way that you can promise the moon and then break it with impunity, what value does such a system have?
Prof. Buback, I would have liked to see a little more foresight from a man in your position. When a political system is so obviously working towards the ruin of the citizens living in it, a little psychologizing is certainly not the appropriate way to analyse it. Open your eyes and see the connections. And they have absolutely nothing to do with the human qualities of the political actors. This is about the interests of the really big players on this planet, who are calling the shots in a country that still has no peace treaty. And, of course, with a supposedly democratic system in which election promises are worth less than the assurances of a trickster. If a system is already built in such a way that you can promise the moon and then break it with impunity, what value does such a system have?
Hello, nothing to add to 90%. But the last sentences make me doubt. Do we have or are we not experiencing nationalistic machinations? And as for the euro, I don't need a euro just to make it easier to travel abroad. I'm sorry, but the last paragraph of your article should make you think carefully about both issues.
Thank you very much, outstanding, intelligent and aptly formulated. BRAVO!
Is the ideological energy policy and climate hysteria even true? CO2 is the basis of all life on this earth, photosynthesis, otherwise a good summary of the current global political situation.
Ich stimme zu: „Die relevanten Themen überwiegend gut hinterfragt. Nur: Sind das freie Reisen und der Euro nicht zu teuer erkauft mit zunehmendem Verlust der Entscheidungsfreiheit der einzelnen europ. Staaten?“ So kommentiert z.B. der Autor und Podcaster Steven Arrazola de Oñate in Bezug auf Breton: „Die EU zeigt immer mehr ihr wahres, leider totalitäres Gesicht. Breton macht deutlich, dass die EU bereit ist, Wahlen in Deutschland zu annullieren, wenn das Ergebnis nicht ihren Vorstellungen entspricht – so wie sie es bereits in Rumänien getan hat. Genau deshalb wollen Politiker und Medien Plattformen wie X so schnell wie möglich in Europa zensieren.“
I'd rather exchange money, just like I have to do when I travel to the USA. The price of this Europe is too high and the face of Europe is unfortunately getting uglier and uglier.
Ich möchte Ihnen ausdrücklich zustimmen: Die Ignoranz gegenüber dem autoritären, großmannssüchtigen Treiben der EU-Kommission und ihrer Exponentinnen ist erschütternd und bringt mich persönlich zeitweise zur Verzweiflung. Da gibt es nichts mehr schönzureden. Die Brüsseler Proxy-Demokratie ist zu einer aufwendigen und kostspieligen Simulation geworden. Ich hoffe, dass das aktuelle Baumwollverbot – EU Cotton Ban – das Ende des von zigtausen Lobbyisten angestachelten EU-Unsinns einläutet. Als „demokratisch“ kann man das nicht mehr verkaufen!
Das EU-Finale von Buback teile ich ausdrücklich nicht, weil ich sehe, welche verheerenden Folgen die offenen Grenzen für unsere Kultur, die innere Sicherheit und die Sozialsysteme haben. Dennoch war ich einerseits bewegt von seinem Text andererseits erschüttert darüber, dass er nicht wagt, Ross und Reiter zu nennen. Der kollektive Fehler, den viele wache Demokraten begehen, ist, das Blatt vor dem Mund zur Schere im Kopf werden zu lassen! Die Einschüchterung durch die Mächtigen ist so groß nicht! Ich will keinen woken Faschismus und bin massiv entmutigt, wenn prominente Figuren der Zeitgeschichte lieber „durch die Blume“ sprechen, statt auf den Tisch zu hauen. Klartext geht anders. Die glücklichen Sklaven der Antifa aber nicht nur sie brauchen einen hörbaren Weckton, Vorbilder in Sachen regierungskritischer Zivilcourage, bevor es zu spät ist! Es darf keinen „Respekt“ (Olaf Scholz) mehr vor der Brandmauer geben! Die Altparteien haben bewiesen, dass sie
cannot. They prefer to maintain their power by suspending freedom of opinion, democracy and the separation of powers - in short: the Basic Law! It is high time for a saving change of policy! Only the AfD is a serious player in the democratic game of power! Let's allow political competition again! Let's deprive the public broadcasters of their power to propagandize - the fundamental evil for the existence of a democracy that divides society! Let us mock the last authoritarian twitches of the old party government! Let us decisively vote them out and prevent them from continuing their dangerous work of destruction that is contrary to fundamental rights!
Im Großen und Ganzen korrekte Analyse, der aufs simpelste heruntergebrochene Schluß allerdings macht mich stutzig: Mal wieder ein Mensch, der offensichtlich lange Jahre in eben diesem Bildungssystem verbracht hat, erst lernend, dann lehrend…und dann, was ist das? Kognitive Dissonanz? Wir haben es ja vorgeführt bekommen, die letzten 4 Jahre, wie plötzlich -klick- das kritische Hinterfragen aufhört, und man mit einer Propaganda-Floskel abgespeist wird, die hinlänglich widergekäut doch wohl wahr sein muß, schließlich sagen das doch alle…?!? Ein ansonsten eloquenter, auch kritischer, intelligenter Mensch fällt zurück in Kindchen-Schema, der gute Onkel Doktor, der gute Pastor, der gute Bürgermeister (wie damals Mama und Papa) ist doch der Besserwissende, der Fachmann, der Experte….Ist das ein Stückchen Stockholm-Syndrom? Wir biedern uns bei unseren Peinigern an, in der Hoffnung, nochmal irgendwie davonzukommen, bis wir uns so in diese Rolle hineingeschaufelt haben, das eine Rückkehr in ein selbstbewustes, souveränes DENKEN und handeln nicht mehr möglich erscheint? Natürlich ist uns diese Unsäglichkeit „Euro“ mit dreisten Behauptungen zum „Nutzen“ und ebenso dreistem Verschweigen der „Nebenwirkungen“ untergejubelt worden!
Agreement in 98%. Unfortunately for Prof Buback he is obviously also inferior to COs nonsense and that the Euro is convenient but by no means good is unfortunately also true.
Many thanks Prof. Dr. Buback!
True words!
d'accord
Thank you, Dr. Buback, for this detailed summary of grievances. But isn't the key to change for peace and prosperity for the whole of humanity the awareness of each individual? How can we expect others to act wisely and peacefully and wisely
decisions if everyone does not start with themselves.
Gnothi seauton
Den vorstehenden Ausführungen zum Zustand und der Entwicklung unseres Landes im Ergebnis gesellschaftlicher, ökonomischer und politischer Unfähigkeit unserer selbsternannten „Eliten“ kann ich im Wesentlichen zustimmen.
However, the optimistic final passage in the form of a positive presentation frightens me in its simplicity and shows that even a professor does not understand economic relationships in the member states of the EU with regard to different value added (e.g. GDP) and their equalization through differentiated weighting of the units of account.
„….. die Möglichkeit weiter Reisen, ohne Grenzen überqueren und zuvor Geld in vielerlei Währung beschaffen zu müssen. Dieses großartige Geschenk ist durch das Erstarken nationalistischer Bestrebungen in einigen Ländern bedroht“
Mit der Argumentation „kein Geld mehr für eine Reise ins Nachbarland umtauschen zu müssen“ wurden viele Menschen vor allen Dingen in DE zur Beruhigung „über den Tisch gezogen“.
And why should nationalism be harmful. Why should we give up our nationalities and be Europeans. A Frenchman wants to continue being French, an Italian wants to continue being Italian and I want to continue being German. People in all nations have developed different experiences, traditions, lifestyles and character traits in the development cycle. I don't think that these are negligible criteria.
@BerndG
I fully agree with your comments!
They precisely address some of the shortcomings of H. Buback's remarks.
The topics on nuclear energy and CO2 are unfortunately also incorrect in the report.
Otherwise, especially the assessment of the educational situation in Germany is correctly formulated in the report... unfortunately.
Natürlich ist „Nationalismus“ schädlich, denn das Suffix -ismus verweist auf eine Übersteigerung wie in Faschismus, Sozialismus oder Extremismus. Aber ein gesundes, wohlwollendes, dabei nicht unkritisches Verhältnis zur eigenen Herkunft und Kultur würde helfen.
Without knowledge of our own roots, we are just identity-less consumers in a global corporate world.
This is exactly where our education system is lacking.
Thank you very much, Dr. Buback, for your interesting comments, which I can only agree with.
Most of the relevant topics were well scrutinized. But aren't free travel and the euro too expensive at the cost of an increasing loss of freedom of choice for individual European states?
The list of grievances in the country, the people responsible and their criminal misconduct, now and in the past, goes on and on.
Education is also a debt. "You keep them stupid, I'll keep them poor....." . Everyone would have come across this sentence when fetching. However, the "sovereign", who calls himself that, was and is too lazy and spoiled by prosperity to fetch things himself and take personal responsibility. According to the motto "opportunity makes thieves", only criminal scum have lied their way into politics and the "sovereign" will continue to promote this process.
" History has taught man that man learns nothing from history " A. Einstein
Diesem Beitrag ist nichts hinzuzufügen. Die „Eliten“, die die Welt im Würgegriff haben, sind das Übel, das es auszumerzen gilt. Eine Neuwahl muss auch ein Neuanfang sein.