.
Potsdam (German news agency) – Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) wants a “new East German self-confidence”. It’s time for that, the SPD politician told the “Tagesspiegel” and the “Potsdamer Latest News” (Wednesday edition).
“It’s the arrogance with which people often talk about East Germany. That urgently needs to change.” Woidke defended himself against “snootiness”. For years, as prime minister, he too had often experienced sympathy for East Germany in various circles. “But now we’re on a different level – now it’s about envy,” said the prime minister. “Brandenburg had the best economic development of all non-city states in Germany in 2022, it is almost twice as good as the German average. And we are only at the beginning.” We will get even better, says Woidke. “This is a completely new perception for many in the West.” Self-confidence must also be asserted towards the federal government. Woidke asked the East Germans: “We decide how we are perceived. We have to go out ourselves.” Of course, east Germans should also become university presidents or ministers in west German federal states, without it being singled out as a special feature. The Prime Minister criticized that East Germans were “still clearly underrepresented” in management positions. The media landscape is also shaped by West Germany. He had resolved to give East Germans more prominence in his country’s representative office. In this context, Woidke also criticized the differences in pay that still existed and asked why a bakery saleswoman was paid less in the East than in the West. “It all starts there, but it doesn’t stop there.” Despite right-wing extremist incidents at a school in Burg im Spreewald and alleged racist attacks on a Berlin school class in a holiday home, Woidke sees no return of the xenophobia of the 1990s in Brandenburg. The country will not be overtaken by right-wing extremism again, said the prime minister: “We have achieved a lot, for example driving hundreds of neo-Nazis out of Halbe.” Brandenburg has a long history of dealing with right-wing extremism. “The events at the school in Burg and in the holiday camp at Frauensee are repulsive and cannot be tolerated,” Woidke continued. But today Brandenburg has a “functioning, strong civil society”. But they also need “the strong state, which has to intervene repressively where there are incidents”. In this case, too, the state will not look the other way, according to Woidke. “The investigation is ongoing.” The fact that, according to polls, the AfD is the strongest force in all of East Germany should be taken “very, very seriously,” he said. In Brandenburg, the AfD is a “deeply right-wing extremist party”. That has to be clearly stated, “even if she comes along cheerfully and friendly at a pedigree rabbit exhibition, in the animal shelter or somewhere else,” says Woidke.