FRANKFURT The global political situation is discussed at the Römerberg Talks
Many people are worried about the West. At least that was the impression that anyone entering the theater on Saturday morning could get. The 57th Römerberg Talks were due to begin in a few minutes, this time under the title “The End of the West – What’s Next?”. The queue of people waiting to enter the Chagall Hall stretched all the way to the cafeteria opposite, made a turn and only ended on the stairs. Inside, visitors were greeted a little later by a varied mix of lectures that dealt with the history of the West, explored the relationship between the American right and Russia or attempted to trace the development process of autocracies.
In his welcoming address, Hessian Science Minister Timon Gremmels (SPD) praised the topicality of the issue. “The crisis in the West has never been as great as it is now,” he said. In his role, he was particularly critical of the new American government’s practice of banning unpopular research by decree. Head of Cultural Affairs Ina Hartwig (SPD) emphasized Frankfurt’s historical connection with the United States. She said it was too early for a “swan song to the West”, even if it was severely weakened. Hartwig called for new debates in order to anchor the values contained in the idea of the “West” in a “contemporary and European” way.
Political scientist Claus Leggewie struck a more pessimistic tone in his lecture, seeing the West as a fact-based and pluralistic entity under attack from three fronts, whose representatives were destroying its essence from within: international right-wing extremists, Islamists and Russian ultra-nationalists. What they have in common is that they want to radically eradicate pluralism. Donald Trump is a fourth player, recently added to the list, who is “eating away” at the West from within. He wants to reverse many liberal achievements, such as almost all international cooperation and treaties of the 20th century. Europe now needs a “humble, confident self-confidence”.
In an interview with Russian human rights activist Irina Scherbakowa, journalist Annika Brockschmidt identified similarities between the right in the United States and the right in Russia. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, anti-communism was the ideological glue of the American right. Since then, the “lowest common denominator” has become Christian nationalism, which is ideologically compatible with Russian Orthodox Christian nationalism. The “checks and balances” that are supposed to ensure the stability of democracy are of little help in this turn of many Americans towards authoritarianism. The unelected quasi-cabinet member Elon Musk “certainly won’t be put in prison, he doesn’t care about fines”.
In his lecture, Berlin historian Sebastian Conrad pointed out that the concept of the West is currently being used by right-wing forces to argue in an anti-migration and anti-woke way. On the other hand, it is “pasted” over facts by politicians as a justification for actions, in the sense of a defense of “Western values”, in which even disagreeable states such as Hungary are counted as part of the West. In many cases, it is not clear what exactly is meant by the West: merely a geographical or a value-based classification to a group?
In his presentation, political scientist Gunther Hellmann saw the emergence of an authoritarian great power situation that differs from both the bipolar world order of the Cold War and the multipolar world order since 1991. It is replacing the rules-based world order with one in which short-term deals predominate. As multilateralists, the Europeans had become loners both internally and externally. As the new Chancellor, Merz therefore had a duty to make Germany and Europe more and more independent of the United States. The long day of discussion, which was attended until the very end by people who had not found a seat in the hall, left the audience with one certainty above all: Germany and Europe are facing unpleasant times.
By Ole Kaiser from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 17.03.2025, No. 64, Rhein-Main-Zeitung, p. 10. © All rights reserved. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH, Frankfurt. Provided by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Archive