Reclaiming peace, protecting the economy and the population from damage
Rally of craftsmen’s guilds in Dessau-Rosslau
Opening speech by Karl Krökel, District Master Craftsman,Head Master Metal Guild, Dessau-Rosslau
(28 September 2022) (Edit.) The economic situation in Germany is coming to a dramatic head as a result of the sanctions against Russia. Especially in eastern Germany, strong protests are rising from the middle class against the policies of the German government. Thus, on 28 August 2022, a rally of craftsmen’s guilds took place on the market square in Dessau. Here we publish the opening speech of Karl Krökel. He is the district master craftsman, head of the metal guild of Dessau-Rosslau.
Dear fellow citizens, representatives of the trades, industries and commerce,
We are pleased that so many people have gathered here today on Dessau’s market square and are impressed by your interest in the most important question we are facing today: How can we regain peace and protect our economy and population from enormous damage?
Around the clock we are subjected to, we are drawn into a campaign in which they are trying to tell us that everything that has been done towards peace since 1945 has been a single mistake.
“We have not been robust enough against Russia” – that is the message we are now asked to embrace. In the papers we read that the war in Ukraine must not be lost. We also cannot avoid agreeing with the Pope when he said, “There are reasons for the war in Ukraine”. And: the war would not have been necessary, right until it started. We must stop this spiral of violence.
“Don’t let yourself be intimidated any longer”
This requires people who take responsibility, who stand firm and say no, in personal responsibility, even if everyone is against them, the press, public opinion. Then you are termed a “Querdenker”, someone thinking out of the box, but in a derogatory way. But that is the actual confrontation we are facing today, more so than ever. It takes people who have their own conscience and can no longer be intimidated.
We declare to those in power: we won’t let you scare us any longer with ever new horror scenarios – the Russians are coming, the Chinese are coming. That you are coming, working against us is bad enough.
We tell those who govern us: it is your duty to sit down together, to conclude reasonable agreements and not to activate a spiral of sanctions.
Protest from various sides
That’s why we wrote a letter to the public on 14 June 2022, followed on 15 July by the Leipzig craftsmen’s association – and then by the Harz-Bode, Zeulemroda and Halle-Saalkreis district craftsmen’s associations. The mayors of Rügen are also demanding: open Nord Stream 2! There are also protests in the Erzgebirge: the entire city council of Schneeberg has warned Minister of Economics Habeck of social unrest, and on 4 August the Zentralkonsum Cooperative Association Berlin called on the Chancellor to re-adjust the embargo policy towards Russia.
The Dessau-Rosslau signatories and other key supporters are on stage here. The letters of the head of the guilds have received enormous support from all sections of the population and the business community, which has continued unabated to this day. Everyone who courageously expresses his or her opinion can be proud of it. We would like to express our sincere thanks for this!
The vast majority of the requests to speak express the fact that the actions of our government are an enormous imposition on our population and the economy. The requests to speak show us that we should continue our resistance on the subject of sanctions and Ukraine even more resolutely in order to make an impact.
We are here
- because we fear a massive damage to our economy including mass unemployment, the likes of which have not been seen since 1945;
- because it is clear that people will not be able to pay their gas and electricity bills;
- because we reject war as a means of politics;
- because we must give a voice to truth;
- because we will not be silenced;
- because we firmly reject the accusation that we are spreading narratives that are in line with Russian propaganda;
- because in the media the scope of discourse is increasingly narrowed, the irreconcilability of arguments, the deliberate misunderstanding, the insinuations are increasing.
“Self-inflicted energy crisis” is “expropriation of the citizens”
The resentment of the population is growing. This government has destroyed the energy supply of the people and the economy. We are now facing the self-inflicted energy crisis, the effects of the Ukraine war and inflation. All this is a dispossession of the citizens. We are being put in an energy emergency, totally intentional. No impact assessment has been made of the consequences of unilaterally ending all energy supplies from Russia. Thus, citizens and the economy are deliberately harmed.
The federal government is in no way obliged to enforce sanctions against other states when they are more harmful for its own population. Thus, the interests of foreign countries are valued more highly than the interests of its own people.
Henry Kissinger's or Klaus von Dohnanyi's admonitions to strive for a balance of interests with Russia are not reflected prominently in the media discourse, nor represents the majority opinion of the population.
“Democracy needs conflict, not conformity”
This scope is also rarely reflected in the talk shows in our republic. Usually, there is only one quota deviant, about whom the rest of the discussion group is then allowed to pounce with relish. Democracy needs conflict, not conformity. But democracy also needs a common basis and a minimum of balance and respect.
If, for example, we craftsmen – who argue with our common sense – allow ourselves to ask whether arms deliveries to Ukraine are not rather conflict accelerators, then we are accused of following the Russian narrative, we are vilified as “understanding Putin” or even as “Putin friends”. This makes a rational, strategic discussion impossible.
It is conceivable that Russia will regard Western states that supply weapons as warring parties and that we will end up in a war with Russia. That this could then escalate into a nuclear war is at least a serious threat that cannot simply be brushed aside by saying that we should not behave like rabbits caught in the headlights filled with worry or even fear.
The debate about the causes of this war and Western failings can hardly be conducted in a levelheaded manner in this country. Merely raising questions is considered by many to be in league with Moscow.
That is why we say in no uncertain terms: anyone who declares a complete defeat of Russia or a retreat behind the borders of 24 February 2022 to be the goal or a prerequisite for a peace solution is not helping Ukraine, but will ultimately end up at war with Russia. What is needed here is creativity and the will to put politics before alleged solutions on the battlefield; there is not simply a right or wrong here.
But with this traffic light government – in allegiance with the USA – we are miles away from that – and that is also why we are here today, to change that and to get out of this impasse.
We must now call for a policy that is oriented towards real needs and to supply this country with energy – energy that is affordable too and does not jeopardise competition.
“Energy policy disaster”
One has to reproach this federal government in all severity: that as late as March it claimed very cheekily: no problem, we are prepared for everything. No matter what Mr. Putin tries, the supply is secured!
That is clearly not the case. In Germany the people are afraid – it must be wrong! The German government has prepared its citizens for a “shortage situation” and started “to consider these issues” as early as December [2021]. Therefore, according to their own statements, they are “very, very well advanced with the preparatory measures”. This means gas rationing, emergency plan, shutdowns, gas apportionment, although none of this would be necessary without the sanctions and with Nord Stream 2. What we are witnessing is an energy policy disaster.
The politicians are promising us to save Ukraine and the economy – although it should never have come to the point that we need to be saved now.
The promises cannot be kept because the federal government has rejected demands from the business community for more relief. While it was important for businesses to survive, the state could not relieve them of every burden. This would reduce the efforts of companies to be innovative. But this is not about being more innovative or not, this is about sheer survival, the survival of us all.
The government is responsible for this energy disaster. The German government was elected to represent the people. In no case are the people to blame. This obscure tangle of threats, sanctions and arms deliveries has now resulted in Germany being the target of Russian politics – with all the harsh consequences that the population and economy must now bear.
Respecting our worries, the world we live in
We expect politicians to respect our grave concerns and the world we live in, not to constantly aggravate the situation to our detriment by imposing new sanctions. We expect a state that can also be trusted by the trades. This trust of the citizens is the foundation of our democracy and presently we are losing this foundation more and more every day. There is a danger that our entire economy will be driven into the ground for ideological reasons and subservience.
Housing companies sound the alarm
People need a roof over their heads, affordable heating, electricity and living costs. How can it be acceptable to prepare older citizens to freeze in winter in their homes or at home? The housing companies in Saxony-Anhalt are sounding the alarm; in the case of additional expenditure for household energy in the residential sector alone, a three-person household is expected to pay more than 4,600 euros in ad-
ditional payments in 2022, and with a gas shortage and stage 3 proclamation, the whole extent cannot be predicted. With around 320,000 dwellings, the additional expenditure in the portfolios of the municipal housing associations and housing cooperatives for household energy are estimated up to 1.25 billion euros.
This constitutes a threat: it is about our lives as independent tradesmen, about the lives of our citizens. This gas dilemma is the sole responsibility of the government.
The energy supply situation is getting worse and worse: no sooner has Brussels decided on a 15 percent reduction in the amount of gas than it is already clear that this will not be enough to guarantee enough supplies in winter. The German government is already calling for a 20 percent reduction. In addition, a gas apportionment is to be imposed on consumers from 1 October this year.
Many will not get through this financially
We all know what this means: not only will gas become scarcer, perhaps even has to be rationed, it will also become considerably more expensive. As a result, electricity prices will also rise. Many citizens and businesses will not be able to cope with this financially. Already, renowned companies are leaving Germany as a business location because the energy costs are too high to continue producing profitably. The most recent example is the traditional company Villeroy&Boch, which is relocating its ceramic production to Turkey. Trigema, one of the few clothing manufacturers still producing domestically, is also thinking about drastic measures to reduce the increased production costs. We are currently experiencing the disaster on our doorstep around the Piesteritz nitrogen plant. On 30 September, our Bakers’ Schicke will close – after almost 75 years. And these are only the prominent examples.
However, we small craft enterprises have only very limited options for relocating abroad.
... for ideological reasons
On the other hand, however, there is a fully constructed gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, in the Baltic Sea. For ideological reasons it is not being used, although more and more craft and trade enterprises and their associations, as well as cities and their public utilities, are demanding that the government approve Nord Stream 2. They have no idea how their businesses can survive without the gas this pipeline could supply.
Berlin seems to be aware of the imminent dangers for Germany as a business location, but instead of releasing the pipeline for use, it has decided on gas apportionment. This apportionment allows the energy companies to pass on the additional costs of gas procurement to citizens and entrepreneurs. But how they are supposed to cope with the additional burden does not seem to raise any questions in the Ministry of Economics. Many people are already living from hand to mouth. The capital base of many businesses has become low.
Do they want to turn off the gas in case of insolvency? Do they want to cut off the gas to thousands of households and businesses when they collapse under the burden of the costs? Do they want to maltreat millions with default notices? Have we considered the additional costs for administration and the judiciary when bills are not paid and direct debit authorisations are cancelled, or when receivables are cancelled and have to be written off? How are insolvent customers supposed to save the suppliers from insolvency? And who is supposed to repair the consequential damage after any electricity and gas outages when a large part of the trades have been bancrupted?
Has none of this been considered, or is it no longer relevant in the fierce struggle believed to be necessary to be waged on our backs against Russia’s autocracy? What good are democratic freedoms if people’s livelihoods have been destroyed? Doesn’t that make people vulnerable to populism?
Politicians have sworn to prevent harm to the German people
It is increasingly difficult to see, let alone convey, what the goal of our government is. It was elected by the people to ensure the smooth functioning of society. It has taken an oath of office that obliges it to avert harm from the German people and to increase its advantage and benefit. That is their duty:
It is their duty to safeguard the interests of the German people.
It is not the duty of the people to serve the idealistic wishful thinking of members of the government. The government has to be there for the people, not the other way round.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the sanctions designed to destroy Russia are more likely to destroy our livelihoods.
So, what is the government going to do about it? Drive its own people into poverty? Set back its own economy by decades? Sacrifice its competitiveness on the altar of ideologies?
German economy has brought about the country’s prosperity
The German economy has created the high standard of living of our society with diligence and intelligence: Our ancestors rebuilt this country from the ruins in decades of labour and brought about an unprecedented prosperity. This life’s work of generations of German workers and entrepreneurs must not be destroyed by a blinded policy whose goal is no longer recognisable.
In their statements, our head craftsmen explain how the sanctions will affect the craft sector and thus also the population. It is about shortages, price increases, incalculable costs, standstill on building sites on an unprecedented scale. The worries are literally written all over our faces.
What makes an honorable craftsman – honesty, reliability, skills – is what we actually expect from politics!
Dear citizens! I am coming to the end!
I am sure that events like this one here in Dessau-Rosslau will also take place everywhere in Germany, and that is a good thing! We simply cannot afford the luxury of doing nothing any more, because the livelihoods of entire generations are at risk! Let us work together to ensure that this force that is now developing does not become a flash in the pan. We must keep on trying and promoting our goals. One of the key words remains dialogue.
We have a duty to keep our country worth living in. All this unites us here today, not the constant hatred and agitation on the European stage. Together we are strong as a craft! There are many of us!
Thank you for your attention!
Dessau-Rosslau, 28 September 2022
Karl Krökel, District Master Craftsman, Head Metal Guild, Dessau-Rosslau
Klaus-Lothar Bebber, Head Master Motor Vehicle Guild, Dessau-Rosslau
Andreas Seliger, Head of SHK Guild, Dessau-Rosslau
René Schönau, Head Master Painters and Varnishers Guild, Dessau-Rosslau
Heersh Majeed Kakabra, Head Master Hairdressers Guild, Dessau-Rosslau
Erik Schulz, Head Master Roofer Guild, Dessau-Rosslau
(Translation “Swiss Standpoint”)