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Lars Klingbeil's Zeitenwende-speech now also available in English

SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil on mistakes towards Eastern Europe, Germany’s role as a leading power, and the global competition for influence. Download the Zeitenwende speech here.

A famous definition of crisis goes back to the Italian writer and intellectual Antonio Gramsci. The gist of what he says is that in a crisis, the old has ceased to exist, but the new has not yet begun.
 

Today we are living in a time of multiple crises: war, climate change, the pandemic, inflation, social division. Each of these crises in itself represents an enormous challenge for our society. But the crises are occurring simultaneously. They are interconnected and are reinforcing one another.

These crises confront us with very fundamental questions. My claim is that we provide answers to these questions, that we shape the future – and that we do so together. Sometimes history is written and it only transpires many years later what times of epochal upheaval they were. But there are also moments in which it is immediately clear: this moment is historic. This moment will change the course of history. This moment will have a direct, immediate and lasting impact on our lives.“


You can find Lars Klingbeil's entire speech here:

„Watershed Moment – The Start of a New Era“ (Speech Lars Klingbeil English)

 


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