Monika Griefahn

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You are here: Home / Opinion / Freedom of speech yes – personal insults no

21. February 2022 | Monika Griefahn

Freedom of speech yes – personal insults no

People who are publicly active have to endure public criticism. And they do. But there are limits that are being crossed more and more frequently, especially in the anonymity of the Internet.

The Green Party member of the Bundestag Renate Künast, my esteemed colleague for many years, has now won an important victory before the Federal Constitutional Court. This is particularly important because it seems that the unaccountability of the net is more and more transferring back to the analog world – an increasing danger for all those who are involved. Many, such as mayors in Germany’s municipalities, have given up, and so every hate post on the net creepily contributes to the endangerment of our precious democracy.

PRIVACY FOR POLITICIANS TOO

The Federal Constitutional Court has now determined that the decisions of previous courts do not meet the high requirements for weighing the protected interests in connection with freedom of expression. Politicians, too, do not have to put up with everything that comes their way in terms of criticism. They, too, have a private sphere.

Antje Draheim, co-chair of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialdemokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen (ASJ), finds this decision remarkable in several respects. She explains: “Politicians do not simply have to put up with serious insults, “but those insults are punishable by law. They remain so, even if one assumes that politicians must be able to endure more than ‘the normal citizen’ who is not in the public eye.” The Internet was not a lawless space in which people are allowed to act without limits and punishable offenses remained unpunished.

RESPECTFUL TREATMENT IMPORTANT

I can only agree with that. I also know from my active time as a politician that insults don’t always roll off your back. But today they come in concentrated form via the “social” networks, so something has to change. I’m glad that Renate Künast had the perseverance to go all the way to the Federal Constitutional Court. That she has been persistent and has not let herself be beaten down and intimidated. That helps every committed person immensely on the way to getting back to respectful dealings with one another – whether analog or digital. And I’m glad that Germany’s highest court came to a different conclusion than the courts before it, which – in my opinion – drew some hair-raising conclusions.

Photograph Justitia: Thorben Wengert, pixelio.de

Filed Under: Opinion, Politics

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Appointments

April 26, 2022: Participation in the event “Rethinking Growth – Visions for Buchholz” as part of the Climate Advisory Board Buchholz in der Nordheide. More information (in German).

May 2, 2022: Buchholz Climate Advisary Council with presentation of the Climate Action Plan.

May, 5-6, 2022: Committee meeting and “Round Table” of the Foundation Lebendige Stadt.

May 10, 2022: Right Livlihood laureate and Russian environmental activist Vladimir Slivyak speaks to the “Alternative Nobel Prize” parliamentary group of the German Bundestag. Slivyak received the award for his commitment against nuclear power and fossil energies. More about him here.

May 12, 2022: Participation in the Congress Cradle to Cradle  –Shaping municipalities of the future.

June 22, 2022: The Central Real Estate Committee (ZIA) organizes the Real Estate Industry Day in Berlin; participation in the panel “Climate Protection” with the topic Cradle to Cradle. More information (some in English).

September 22, 2022: Lecture on “The Cradle to Cradle principle – necessary for climate protection” at the Lions Club Hamburg-Hoheneichen.

October 20, 2022: Introductory statement at “eKKon 2022” – the Austrian congress on eFuels in Vienna. It is about the growing importance of eFuels in the climate debate.


Cradle to Cradle Congress 2021

Logo C2C-Congress

Cradle to Cradle Congress 2021: Because of the Corona pandemic the C2C Conress took place in three parts this year: The first one was on June 14, 2021 in Freiburg. The second took place on September 7, 2021 in Mainz, the third November 4, 2021 in Mönchengladbach.


eFuels

Synthetic fuels are one of the decisive factors for the energy transition away from fossile fuels. That is why I am committed to the further development and practical use of eFuels and became a member of the Sounding Board of the eFuel Alliance in May 2021.
English website of the eFuel Alliance


Climate committee

Constituent session: Photo: City of Buchholz / Helms

In May 2021, the climate committee was constituted in the climate forum at my place of residence in Buchholz in the Nordheide. I am pleased to be chairwoman of the advisory board! The city has set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral and there is still a lot to do to achieve this. The committee advises the municipal  administration on fundamental questions of climate policy.
To the article on the Buchholz website (in German)


Right Livelihood Laureate 2021

Right Livelihood Award

They stand up against violence and climate change and address the most pressing questions of our time: Marthe Wandou (Cameroon), Wladimir Sliwjak (Russia), Freda Huson (People of the Wet’suwet’en, Canada) and the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (India) are the winners of the Right Livelohood Award (“Alternative Nobel Prize”) 2021. Please find here the award ceremony documentation or read more about the laureates in our blog.


Federal Order of Merit

After the award ceremony, Olaf Lies, Monika Griefahn and Rainer Rempe stand together. Photo: Frank Ossenbrink

After the award ceremony, Olaf Lies, Monika Griefahn and Rainer Rempe stand together. Photo: Frank Ossenbrink

Our CEO Dr. Monika Griefahn received the Federal Order of Merit. Please read more about her biography and about the award ceremony in our blog.


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