It is a historical picture: in the night of October 3, 1990, the unity is celebrated in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin. Top politicians of the Federal Republic and the first and last democratically elected government of the GDR have gathered on a pedestal. Among them, at the very right edge of the picture, is the then Federal Minister of Finance, Theo Waigel.
In an interview with SPIEGEL, the 80-year-old CSU honorary chairman speaks about this night in Berlin, controversial decisions in the reunified Germany - and the current political landscape in the East.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Waigel, the historical photos from the night of October 3, 1990 show you with the political greats of the time on a pedestal in front of the Reichstag building.
Theo Waigel: Wait, one question: Am I just halfway there or completely?
SPIEGEL: On the motif you are completely visible, trust our photo editor!
Waigel: Good. For some pictures only half of my face is visible, sometimes only my eyebrow.
SPIEGEL: How did you experience the day?
Waigel: It was incredibly moving. We saw enthusiastic people in front of this pedestal, who came towards us. I stood, from my place, on the left, although politically I'm not a leftist. From my point of view on the far right were the SPD politicians Willy Brandt and Oskar Lafontaine. At some point in the course of the night, all others - Helmut Kohl, Richard von Weizsäcker - have left this podium. After all, only Brandt and I were up there. He came up to me and shook my hand without saying a word. Tears ran down Willy Brandt's face. I do not forget that, that still moves me today, as this old man at that time was happy about the unity.
SPIEGEL: What happened then?
Waigel: I went to the Reichstag, where the then Soviet ambassador to Bonn, Vladislav Terekhov, came to meet me. He told me that the so-called transitional agreement was ready for signing. This regulated the withdrawal of Soviet troops and civilians from GDR territory until the summer of 1994, including heavy weapons. On October 9, 1990, we signed this agreement in Bonn. It was the first Treaty of the new sovereign united Germany. Incidentally, the people in the Foreign Office at the time were a little annoyed, because just the Minister of Finance has signed this important contract.
SPIEGEL: Today - 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall - we are arguing again about whether the work of the Treuhandanstalt in the East was correct, whether the introduction of the DM in the summer of 1990 was right. Do you frustrate that?
Waigel: No, I can handle that. If I have learned one thing, then that: As a politician one should not expect any gratitude.
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Theo Waigel: The Minister of FinanceSPIEGEL: And the economic questions?
Waigel: What we did in 1990, whether currency conversion or fiduciary, was essentially correct. I stand by that, there was no alternative. The salaries and pensions we had to switch one-to-one to Westmark. What many today no longer want to admit: The average of the former GDR wages was 1250 East Mark. If we had changed one to two, many people would have been abruptly plunged into poverty. The productivity of the GDR economy was below 30 percent compared to the West, every mobile GDR citizen would have gone to the West.
SPIEGEL: Today, the Left Party and AfD are trying to fend off the fiduciary, even considering a committee of inquiry.
Waigel: Oh God, I would survive as a witness and a third committee, because I was already questioned in two trustee committees of the Bundestag. By the way, by the later SPD Federal Interior Minister Otto Schily. He heard me for eight hours, then I was mad at him, today we are friends.
SPIEGEL: Is there nothing you could have done better?
Waigel: We should have made it clearer to the people in the East that even the SED assessed the situation as catastrophic. The then chairman of the state planning commission, Gerhard Schürer, had predicted in two secret papers the collapse of the GDR, also a reduction of the life level of the GDR by up to 30 percent. The GDR companies were not profitable, the products did not have enough customers. We have invested more than 300 billion DM in companies via the trust and tried to obtain those that were competitive. And that also has to be said, because blaming is sometimes very one-sided: The trustee board also included the prime ministers of the new federal states, sat representatives of the unions and the economy.
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Growing after the clear cut: The balance of the East in ten graphicsSPIEGEL: In the East, the AfD has replaced the Left as the strongest force. Are you worried about this development?
Waigel: Yes, yes.
SPIEGEL: How do you explain this?
Waigel: It's a bunch of reasons, quite a cultural phenomenon as well. Four million people went from East to West from 1949 to 1989. We in the West had twelve years of Nazi dictatorship, then democracy came relatively quickly. In the east, however, immediately after the end of the war, the Soviet occupation period and from 1949 to 1989, the GDR dictatorship followed, so almost half a century. This also affects the dealings with other cultures, other ethnic groups, peoples. We also have similar developments in other former socialist countries of the Eastern bloc. But I'm convinced that in 10, 20 years it will look different.
SPIEGEL: The AfD is already stronger in the East than the CDU. Also in Bavaria she came to parliament. How should the Union behave in general?
Waigel: Just as we in Bavaria have always rejected a coalition with the Republicans, the NPD or the AfD, the CDU in the East should never form a coalition with the AfD. The demarcation to the AfD is necessary. You have to fight them with all democratic means.
SPIEGEL: Thüringen is elected at the end of October, where the Left is the prime minister. The AfD is likely to grow and so could possibly be formed against the left and AfD no coalition. What do you advise the local CDU?
Waigel: No way to enter into a coalition with the AfD! Then prefer to tolerate a minority government for a while. At the same time, however, make it clear to the population that this is done only as an emergency solution and actually requires a clear decision.
SPIEGEL: Should the CDU coalition with the left?
Waigel: No. It should support a minority cabinet, if necessary.
SPIEGEL: What message do you have for the Germans at this year's 3rd October?
Waigel: We have done the biggest solidarity campaign in German history, East and West. We can all be proud of each other.
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