“Even the most serious differences of opinion must not interrupt the thread of dialogue”

The sentence that caused outrage at the Süddeutsche Zeitung comes from Peter Gauweiler, a lawyer and former deputy chairman of the CSU. At the invitation of a Russian law firm, he gave a lecture in Moscow entitled “The Legitimacy and Illegitimacy of Foreign-Policy Sanctions.”

Gauweiler referred to the special Bavarian tradition of dialogue with Moscow, which was based on “the sober realization that a willingness to engage in dialogue is not a sign of weakness, but a necessary prerequisite for responsible policy.” He also called for bridges to be built between Bavaria and Russia, questioned the legality of some anti-Russian sanctions, and proposed having them reviewed by the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The CSU quickly sought to distance itself from Gauweiler: after all, he had already withdrawn from politics in 2015, and the party does not comment on private trips. In the newspaper’s view, however, Gauweiler is still regarded by the public as a CSU politician—and he also uses a similar emblem on his website.

Associate oneself with reasonable ideas? Better not, because that is truly frightening...

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