Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that populist parties are trying to divide society by creating hatred and envy among various groups of citizens.
elchi reports that she stated this at the presentation ceremony of the International Mendelssohn Prize in Leipzig.
According to Merkel, populist supporters pit the people against the elite and divide citizens based on how long they have been citizens.
The former chancellor said: “There are the people, there is the elite, and then there are those who have newly acquired citizenship and those who have been citizens for a longer time. This is an attempt to divide people into categories, to create hatred, to create discrimination, to create envy.”
She emphasized that in Germany, power belongs to the people, but all German citizens are considered part of the people, regardless of their origin or when they obtained citizenship.
“It doesn’t matter if someone comes from the former GDR or became a citizen just three years ago, for example, from Syria. All German citizens are one people.
She received the 2026 Mendelssohn Prize in the “Europe” category. The organizers appreciated her contribution to European integration and the strengthening of European unity. In the “Music” category, the award was given to the German clarinetist, conductor, and composer Jörg Widmann,” Merkel noted.
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