Statement by EES President Dr Ingo Friedrich, September 6th, 2026
The Key Levers of Our Time
Established parties are frequently urged to focus more closely on the tangible problems facing people: social benefits, income distribution, jobs, structural issues in left-behind regions, climate change, tax fairness, and the situation of single parents. These are undoubtedly important issues. The hope is that whoever addresses them more effectively can cut the political ground out from under the AfD.
However, this view falls short.
There are deeper factors at play that create uncertainty, undermine trust in politics, and thereby foster political radicalization. To date, these have received too little attention in public discourse.
- An increasingly complex world
Financial systems, digitalization, artificial intelligence, global markets, and international power structures have become difficult for the individual to fathom. It is hard to assess what we do not understand—and what we cannot assess easily makes us afraid.
That is why we need credible, independent experts who can explain complex developments in understandable terms and provide guidance. One does not need to understand everything, but a certain basic trust that things will turn out well in the end is essential.
- The Loss of National Capacity to Act
An increasing number of critical issues transcend national borders: security, trade, technology, migration, information, and artificial intelligence can scarcely be managed at the national level alone.
This gives rise to a loss of control and a longing for the familiar boundaries of the past. However, the answer cannot be a return to a world that no longer exists. Instead, the national capacity to act—which is currently being lost—must be pooled where it can be exercised effectively in the future: specifically, at the European level. Europe has what it takes to play in the international "Champions League" and thereby offset the loss of national control.
- The inability to tolerate differing opinions
Self-confident citizens are indispensable to a democracy. However, self-confidence can morph into the conviction that one alone possesses the truth. "I believe this is right" quickly turns into "Anyone who thinks differently is wrong," and ultimately, "Anyone who thinks differently must be fought."
Greater tolerance, self-criticism, and a willingness to subject one’s own position to opposing arguments are therefore essential. The tone of political discourse in Germany must once again be characterized by decency, courtesy, and factual analysis.
- The Lack of a Shared Sense of Direction
In the past, institutions such as the church provided many people with a sense of direction and a feeling of shared belonging. Today, there is a lack of any comparably widely accepted authority.
The Federal President or the Federal Constitutional Court could assume such a role, at least in part—not as political decision-makers, but as credible voices for fundamental democratic values, social cohesion, and optimism.
Furthermore, a common pattern in the media is that the negative is more interesting than the positive; conflict generates more attention than common ground. This creates a distorted picture of social reality. Positive aspects rarely receive due recognition, and the successes of others tend to provoke envy rather than serving as a model for one’s own aspirations.
- Excessive expectations of the state
At the same time, there is a growing expectation that the state should solve virtually every individual problem. To put it in exaggerated terms: if a basement floods, people expect the Chancellor to show up in person and cover the damages.
The state can and should do a great deal. However, it cannot become an insurer against all of life’s adversities. A democratic society therefore needs a realistic understanding of what the state can achieve—and what citizens and society must do for themselves. Otherwise, excessive—and bureaucratic—protective regulations and unaffordable social benefits are the natural consequence of such a mindset.
- Social media as a negative reinforcer
Social media rewards attention—and attention is most easily generated through outrage, fear, and conflict. Consequently, these platforms can significantly intensify polarization.
This makes media literacy all the more important: people need to learn how to contextualize information, recognize manipulation, and distinguish between opinion, assertion, and fact. Excessive and uncritical use of social media—as initial studies indicate—may even lead to a drop in IQ among young people.
- The feeling that minorities are given greater importance
When specific issues concerning minorities receive a great deal of public attention, while the everyday concerns of the majority are barely addressed, a feeling can arise:
“What about me—an ordinary person?”
This does not mean that issues affecting minorities are unimportant. However, democratic politics must ensure that the majority, too, feels seen and taken seriously regarding their everyday concerns.
- When a predominantly right-leaning majority experiences predominantly left-leaning policies
Finally, a particularly problematic issue is the impression held by many citizens that there is a growing gap between their own fundamental political stance and the policies actually being pursued.
A significant portion of the population identifies—in terms of traditional political coordinates—as conservative or to the right of the political center. At the same time, many perceive that political decisions and public discourse are increasingly shaped by left-leaning positions.
A population that is predominantly right-leaning or conservative in its thinking thus finds itself confronted with policies it perceives as increasingly left-wing.
Whether this perception is objectively accurate in every single policy area is another matter. However, the perception itself carries significant political consequences. After all, anyone who consistently feels that their political views—shared by a majority—are not only failing to be implemented but are sometimes even being morally disparaged risks losing faith in the democratic center.
A democracy must therefore be capable of openly and seriously debating conservative and right-wing positions—though not far-right ones.
The Real Challenge
Political radicalization cannot, therefore, be combated solely through better social policy, higher wages, or new infrastructure. While these things are important, they do not solve the underlying problem.
Many people are increasingly losing the sense that they understand their world, can influence their future, and are being heard politically.
Complexity turns into uncertainty; uncertainty into fear; fear into mistrust—and mistrust can give rise to radicalization.
That is why, alongside sound policy, we need—above all—orientation, trust, political representation, tolerance, and a sense of shared agency.
The crucial task for politics, then, is not to promise people a perfect world. Rather, it must convey to them that, even in an increasingly complex world, they are understood, can help shape the future, and share a future worthy of human dignity.
These are the key levers for our times.
Dr. Ingo Friedrich