Bonn is associated with the democratic new beginning of our history. Bonn is associated with the most peaceful and most liberal period of our history. It should never come to an end. Bonn is associated with Western integration, the basis of our readmission into the community of free peoples. It’s not that Bonn has failed in its duty and can simply go. Together with Berlin, Bonn stands for a liberal and peaceful future for our country.
[ . . . ]
Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU/CSU): [ . . . ] I believe, during the forty years that we were divided, the vast majority of us, if asked where the parliament and the government should be located in the event of reunification, wouldn’t even have understood the question; we would have responded with: Berlin, of course.
(Applause from deputies of the CDU/CSU, the FDP, the SPD, and Alliance 90/The Greens)
[ . . . ]
And this is not about jobs, moving or traveling costs, about regional policy or economic development policy. To be sure, all of that’s important,
(Otto Schily [SPD]: “Very true!”)
but in reality this is about the future of Germany. That’s the crucial question.
(Applause from deputies of the CDU/CSU, the FDP, the SPD, and Alliance 90/The Greens)
With all due respect, let me say this: every one of us – I live neither in Bonn nor Berlin; I also don’t live in Brandenburg or North Rhine-Westphalia, instead I live deep in the south-west on the French border – is not only the representative of his electoral district and his state but is also the representative of the entire German people.
(Sustained applause from deputies of the CDU/CSU, the FDP, the SPD, and Alliance 90/The Greens)
Each one of us must be aware of this responsibility as we make our decisions today.
Last year we restored the unity of our people. That took a lot of effort. Now we still have to make it complete. That, too, will take a lot more effort.
Many have said that in order to overcome the division, we have to be willing to share. That’s true. But anyone who thinks that can be done only through taxes and levies or collective bargaining and grouping is mistaken. Sharing means that we must demonstrate a collective willingness to jointly suffer the changes that arise from German unity.
(Sustained applause from deputies of the CDU/CSU, the FDP, the SPD, and Alliance 90/The Greens)
That’s why even in the so-called eleven old federal states – incidentally, Baden-Württemberg is not all that old compared to Saxony – not everything can stay as it was, and that includes Bonn and the Rhineland.
(Applause from deputies of the CDU/CSU, the FDP, the SPD, and Alliance 90/The Greens)
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