On 28 October 2022 the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, delivered a speech that is a model of maturity, honesty and humility whilst offering a clear vision for the future.
I read it and wondered where the same mature honesty might be found in an ideologically divided UK where none of our leaders has (so far, at least) managed to articulate such a clear diagnosis of (a) how the world has changed since the invasion of Ukraine, (b) what will need to change in a large nation’s present, (c) what a realistic vision for the future of Europe might look like, and (d) what the costs might be at every level of society. But, rather than lay all the responsibility on the shoulders of politicians or big business, it includes an appeal to individual commitment to the common good.
Is it too much to ask that a unifying equivalent might be forthcoming from our leaders in the UK?
The German original can be read here and the English translation here.
