Willy Brandt

Du willst dich möglichst weit davon distanzieren.

Das ist auch dunkler Humor, aber mal ganz im Ernst: Wann hatten wir zum letzten Mal 'nen ernst zu nehmenden Politiker, der das gemacht hat, was er gesagt hat? Also in meiner Lebenszeit, da gibt's noch so Gedanken an 'nen Gerhard Schröder 'n bisschen zurück, vielleicht Willy Brandt und so weiter, ja.

Aber diese ganze Ära, da ist ja heute nichts mehr von übrig geblieben.

Nein, leider nicht mehr.

The fight against Russia continues very very strongly and i even have to say as i'm in switzerland i'm based in in basel uh switzerland and you know just next door we have germany and i have to say uh now if i listen to mertz who is the the bundeskanzler the chancellor of germany if i listen to him Then I go like, whoa, gee, I mean, he's talking so badly about the Russians.

Even in the Cold War, when Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt or the Kohl were in power in Germany, they were much nicer when the Soviet Union was a communist country.

They were.

I mean, back then, actually, in the Cold War, I think at least to a good number of people inside Europe, it was pretty clear that if there will be another contest, a great power war between the US and Russia, then that war would obviously be fought in Europe.

Willy Brandt hat als Außenminister eine gute Figur gemacht.

Er sollte Kanzler werden.

Seitdem Brandt und Schiller mitmischen, stimmen die Kohlen wieder.

Den Begriff der Zeitenwende hatten wir ja erst vor kurzer Zeit wieder.

Doch solche Zeitenwenden hat es öfter gegeben, zum Beispiel 1969.

Die Wahl Willy Brandts zum Bundeskanzler am 21.

Oktober 1969 war weit mehr als ein bloßer Regierungswechsel.

Sie markierte einen politischen Einschnitt in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik, weil erstmals ein Sozialdemokrat an die Spitze der Regierung kam.

It depends on the United States somehow being there, which I don't agree with at all.

But even with the German case, Germany had its own voice at times with Willy Brandt, with Helmut Schmidt, with Helmut Kohl, with Schroeder, and with Merkel, by the way, up until the second day of the NATO summit in 2008.

After that...

I haven't heard a word from Europe

You said the line wobbles.

The 1972 Brandt vote.

A no-confidence motion against Chancellor Willy Brandt in the West German Parliament needed 249 votes and got 247.

One reason it fell short.

A Christian Democrat member, Julia Steiner, took 50,000 marks from the East German Stasi to abstain.

There were leaders here that made a difference.

Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl and Schroeder and I would say Angela Merkel to the first day of the Bucharest NATO summit.

These were real people.

They thought.

All this sham about, you know, the free world.

The United States always controlled Europe, even in the times of their relative freedom for them, like Ostpolitik or Willy Brandt.

And, you know, even Gelman Schmidt subscribed to it, that they needed their... 55, 60 years Soviet Union and Russia supplied them with the affordable energy.

That's why they raised their standard of living.

But these were Russians also who rejected outright their Morgenthau plan, you know, for turning Germany essentially in the...

And then Ostpolitik which was allowed by the United States, obviously.

And Willy Brandt conceived it.

And he was the one who went to Warsaw and kneeled in the front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, you know, for what has been done to the Eastern Europeans.