Joschka Fischer Quotes

Joschka Fischer delivers sharp, political commentary that cuts to the heart of war and history.

36 quotes

1. 'Stalin was a guy like we are, not only that he considered himself a revolutionary and lived like one, but he was a character in the truest sense of the word ... We have finally to let out this psychological wreckage ... it is our and my darkest chapter, I know or better to say I suspect it, because I am extremely afraid of certain things that are inside of me. Bartsch and Honka are extreme cases, but in some sense this is as personality inside of oneself ... then it easily developed into, yes, the thrill of punching, tending to be a sadistic pleasure.' Written by Fischer in the German journal 'autonomie' No. 5, 1977.

2. 'Mit Verlaub Herr Prasident, Sie sind ein Arschloch.' ('With respect, Mr President, you are an asshole') - interjection, dedicated to German Bundestag vice president Richard Stucklen, after he excluded Jurgen Reents because he described Helmut Kohl as 'von Flick freigekauft' (bought out by Flick), 18. October 1984; (S. Krause-Burger: 'Joschka Fischer. Der Marsch durch die Illusionen.')

3. 'Excuse me, I am not convinced.' (addressing U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with regard to the Iraq War at the 39th Security Conference in Munich)

4. 'Ich sehe uns schon mit Dreadlocks da sitzen und eine riesige Tute rauchen, im Hintergrund Reggae-Music und vor uns ein dampfendes Bier. Im Ernst: Wie stellen Sie sich das vor?' ('I can already picture us sitting there with dreadlocks, smoking a huge joint, listening to reaggae-music and in front of us a steaming beer. Seriously: Can you imagine such a thing?') (After the Bundestags election 2005 about the dicussions of the so-called Jamaica-coalition.)

5. 'Let's forget the reunification, let's just shut up and don't talk about that topic for the next 20 years.' Autumn 1989 ('Vergessen wir die

6. (When asked about his name by President Bush) 'My name is Mr. Fischer. What's your name?' (October 22nd, 2005) [1]

7. 'I recognize now how much I remained a Marxist.' (1997)

8. 'The European Union is a value- and not a religion-community'

9. 'Die Grunen durfen nicht nach jeder Niederlage den Kopf noch tiefer in den Sandhaufen der Lebenslugen stecken.'

10. 'Humans without shadow are unpresentable.'

11. 'Wer das Wunschbare mit dem Machbaren verwechselt, wird scheitern.' ('Who mixes up the wishable and the doable will fail')

12. 'Wir durfen eine gute Sache nicht am falschen Schein ruinieren.' ('We must not ruin a good thing with a bad appearance')

13. A transitional government is the beginning of a transfer of sovereignty. It's a question of Iraqi security and moving forward with the political process.

14. From my own experience in dealing with the Nazi-grandpas, who have now clearly made a return, I would recommend a bit of fundamental imperturbability.

15. We were in opposition to the decision to go to war. But after the war happened, it was clear that you could not sit and look-there would be a breeding ground for terrorism or a new collapsed or failed state named Iraq!

16. We shouldn't discuss the world of tomorrow in terms of becoming a balance to the United States. The real issue is whether the United States will define herself as part of the U.N. system-or not.

17. I don't believe, in the 21st century, in the balance of power system. This is a European idea of the 19th and 20th centuries.

18. We already have a federation. The 11, soon to be 12, member States adopting the euro have already given up part of their sovereignty, monetary sovereignty, and formed a monetary union, and that is the first step towards a federation.

19. We have an interest in excellent relations because we are neighbours as Europeans with Russia. We are allies with the United States in the NATO framework.

20. An enlarged Union based on Nice is not in the interest of any Member State ... This is not a threat. This is a messenger delivering news.

21. Germany is to be contained from outside and heterogenized from the inside by influx, 'diluted' so to speak.

22. We have every interest in seeing that the military use of nuclear power will be contained.

23. What will we do in a globalised world? All human beings are equal, so they have the same right to have the same lifestyle-the same social security, jobs, education.

24. The future of the German automobile industry is very much at stake. Will we help shape the upheaval that goes along with the shift to electric cars or will we suffer from it? We are the country of automobiles. If we aren't able to remain out front technologically, it will be painful. That is one of the decisive questions when it comes to jobs, income and prosperity - and not just for a few of the wealthy or super-rich, but for a huge number of people.

25. We are ready to train new Iraqi forces outside Iraq. We did it in Abu Dhabi.

26. We had to move forward after the war and see the realities.

27. The situation in Iraq is dangerous but the regional situation is also very complicated and precarious.

28. There are differences in the world community. But we have a common interest in a strong multilateral system.

29. India has been contributing very much to the reconstruction of Afghanistan; we are strongly engaged there.

30. There is an ongoing debate about the reform of the U.N. system.

31. I never use the concept, multipolar. I use multilateral. Because we have only one global power: whether you like it or not, this is the United States.

32. Everybody is talking today about the economy.

33. You must see the persons who are in charge-persons you can punish or vote for.

34. The participation in European elections was always not very exciting. People are very interested in European issues, but they don't see the person who is representing Europe.

35. The EU is on the brink of becoming a European Federation by the year 2010... I feel sure that Britain will fall in line.

36. We will not send troops. Germany is not committed to Iraq - we will not commit ourselves with troops.