Petra Pau in favor of a referendum on the Basic Law

Vice-President of the Bundestag Petra Pau is campaigning for a referendum on the Basic Law in order to strengthen support for democracy nationwide. "It's about re-establishing the Basic Law as a common foundation," said the Left Party politician in an interview with the German Press Agency. "Turning the Basic Law into a German constitution by means of a referendum could be a smart way to raise awareness of the fundamental values of our community."

Pau made her comments against the backdrop of the AfD's electoral success, particularly in East Germany. The East Berlin member of the Bundestag sees omissions in the unification process in 1990, when the former GDR joined the area of application of the West German Basic Law via Article 23. Article 146 was not used, which to this day stipulates that the Basic Law becomes invalid "on the day on which a constitution comes into force that has been freely adopted by the German people".

"After German unification, the opportunity would have been there for East and West and North and South to adopt a constitution with a referendum," said Pau. "We missed many opportunities. Now, at the end of a discussion process, there should at least be the deletion of Article 146." She was picking up on a suggestion by East German SPD politician Markus Meckel, which is also supported by Thuringian Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left Party).

For a decision before the Bundestag elections

"In many places, no thought is given to the fact that there is a large proportion of the population that does not look back on 75 years of the Basic Law, but only 35 years," said Pau. "Most GDR citizens had nothing to do with the negotiations on the Unification Treaty in 1990. This debate was not held back then. Today, I see that many people are very willing to take part in the discussion about democracy and the constitution."

With a growing time lag between 1949 and 1990, the appreciation of democracy as the best of all political systems seems to be decreasing. "We must not accept this without action," demanded Pau. "A referendum on the adoption of the Basic Law as an all-German constitution could be a sensible way to rebuild support for our free and democratic basic order in the East and West."

This must be combined with a genuine offer of dialog with citizens and an offensive in political education. And it has to happen quickly: "A constitutional convention might be the right forum. However, it is important that it does not drag on, but that we make a decision before the 2025 Bundestag elections."

"Against this fatalism of the lost East"

She appealed to the traffic light coalition to implement an announced project: "I would really like to see the Democracy Promotion Act passed," said the Bundestag Vice President. "We should tackle this fatalism of the lost East. There is a diverse civil society, associations and initiatives in many places."

She asked people in western federal states to be willing to engage in dialog: "In the West, I hear: "Isn't it enough with the East?" And at the same time, after an election, everyone asks what makes the East tick and what is wrong with the East Germans. There is a feeling that they have been ignored, that they have not been asked. Can we finally stop this? No, we haven't even started yet."