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Germany risks Weimar-style divisions, President Steinmeier warns

Steinmeier said hopes for liberal democracy and international cooperation have suffered bitter setbacks as more than 400,000 people attend Unity Day events.

  • Germany marks the 36th anniversary of German Unity Day on Saturday in Bremen, hosting over 400,000 visitors for national celebrations featuring hundreds of events through Sunday commemorating the 1990 integration of East Germany into the Federal Republic.
  • In his final Unity Day speech, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that democracy faces renewed threats from right-wing extremism, noting that hopes for international cooperation have suffered "bitter setbacks."
  • Commemorating October 3, 1990, when five states rejoined the Federal Republic, the festivities highlight the motto "Many Strengths — One Country," with Bremen hosting as the current president of the Bundesrat.
  • Eastern Germany commissioner Elisabeth Kaiser argued for a female successor from the east, stating eastern Germans remain underrepresented in power and that the time is right for an eastern German head of state.
  • Germany's Federal Convention will elect Steinmeier's successor on January 30, as the 70-year-old president cautioned that the presidency is "not an office to be taken lightly" with his second term ending next year.
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24 Articles

Center

Federal President Steinmeier gives speech at celebrations for the Day of German Unity in Bremen

·Hamburg, Germany
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Center

Defend what is valuable and has been won: The Federal President uses the ceremony for the Day of German Unity for a comprehensive warning.

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volksfreund.devolksfreund.de
+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
Center

Defend what is valuable and has been won: The Federal President uses the ceremony for the Day of German Unity for a comprehensive warning.

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Right

In his speech on the Day of German Unity, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned against the alleged destructive effects of the Internet on political culture, lamenting "an unbearable political demagogy of extremist forces."

·Berlin, Germany
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Center

In his speech on German Unity Day, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the country was drifting towards a division reminiscent of the Weimar Republic, while extremist forces were undermining democracy with disinformation campaigns.

·Budapest, Hungary
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Thüringer Allgemeine broke the news in Erfurt, Germany on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
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