Chancellor Angela Merkel wonders about the current freedom of speech debate. "Freedom of expression does not mean that there is no opposition," said the CDU politician in an interview with SPIEGEL (read the full interview here). She does not see the freedom of expression in danger and thinks that "we can not become a society of affirmation".
The Chancellor continued: "Of course, the AfD founder Bernd Lucke must be able to give a lecture at the University of Hamburg, the state must enforce if necessary." Merkel: "But the debate is such that a so-called mainstream is defined, which sets limits to freedom of expression, but that's just not true." One must expect "to get headwind and peppered counter-arguments," said the CDU politician.
I encourage everyone to say his or her own opinion, but then you have to endure some of the demands and even a so-called shitstorm. " The Chancellor said: "I've already experienced that, it's part of democracy."
Merkel: "In the old Federal Republic at that time there were quite different debates, for example in the late 1960s, if I am correctly informed."