Steinmeier warnt in Neustadt vor autoritären Tendenzen
Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke at the Hambacher Freiheitspreis ceremony at Hambacher Schloss and warned in neustadt an der Weinstraße that democracy needs active defense. He then took part in the Fest der Demokratie in the same city, where he praised the many groups campaigning around the anniversary of the Basic Law.
Hambacher Schloss and Adam Bodnar
At Hambacher Schloss, Steinmeier said democracy, the rule of law and independent institutions were under pressure worldwide. He said authoritarian governments try to undermine oversight bodies, weaken free media and make the judiciary compliant, but added that citizens are not helpless and that democratic societies can defend themselves.
The Hambacher Freiheitspreis 1832, awarded for the third time and endowed with 10,000 euros, went to the Polish constitutional lawyer and former justice minister Adam Bodnar. The ceremony took place at Hambacher Schloss, described as the symbolic birthplace of the German democracy movement, where tens of thousands gathered in 1832 demanding freedom, national unity and press freedom.
Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Later at the Fest der Demokratie in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Steinmeier said he was “überwältigt” by how many thousands of associations, initiatives and projects had campaigned for democracy and cohesion. He told participants, “Sich um die Demokratie zu kümmern, das ist unser aller Angelegenheit,” and added, “Sie lassen sich nicht leiten von der täglich neu befeuerten Weltuntergangsstimmung. Sie sind nicht die Besserwisser, Sie sind die Bessermacher.”
The setting gave Steinmeier’s warnings a pointed frame: Hambacher Schloss links his remarks to a place tied to the German democracy movement, while Neustadt put him in front of organizers trying to keep that tradition visible in the present. Steinmeier had also been criticized for an earlier remark, made in the context of the Correctiv report in January 2024 about the Potsdam meeting on “Remigration,” when he referred to millions of voters of an opposition party as “extremistischen Rattenfängern.”
For Steinmeier, the day tied the ceremony and the civic gathering together: one speech focused on pressure from authoritarian governments, the other on the groups he said are already resisting it. The next visible political test will be whether that public appeal at Hambacher Schloss and in Neustadt turns into broader support for the institutions he said are under strain.
