Dear Mayor İmamoğlu,
Your Excellencies,
Dear guests, partners and friends,

On behalf of the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung, I very warmly welcome you to the 2024 Helmut Schmidt Lecture.
With this annual event, we commemorate one of the most important German statesmen of the 20th century. Helmut Schmidt is – among many other things – remembered as an international thought leader, a reflective mind, a brilliant public speaker and, of course, as the chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany in times of global crises and changes. Throughout his political and personal life, he was a strong advocate for international peace, economic cooperation and democracy.

Therefore, in 2017, the German Bundestag established a foundation in his name – but with a mission that goes far beyond merely commemorating Helmut Schmidt: we at the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung aim to deepen our knowledge of international peace and conflict resolution, economic cooperation, and democracy in the 21st century – in Germany, Europe, and the world.

In line with this mission, it is already the fourth time that we have invited an outstanding public personality to deliver the Helmut Schmidt Lecture. At our inaugural lecture in 2021, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about “Living democracy!”; in 2022, Hatice Cengiz, human rights activist and fiancée of the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi talked to us about the importance of “Speaking Up”; and last year, renowned economist and President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) Moritz Schularick shed light on the complex challenge of rethinking globalisation.

This year, it is our great honour and pleasure to welcome the Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, to deliver this year’s Helmut Schmidt Lecture on “For a Just Democracy!”

As a leading figure of the main social-democratic opposition party in Turkey, Mayor İmamoğlu has distinguished himself as a tireless defender of democracy. He has been championing a new form of politics dedicated to equality, civic participation and socioeconomic development. In his remarks, the Mayor will explain us this new form of inclusive, democratic politics. He will share his ideas on how democrats in Turkey, Europe and around the world can successfully counter authoritarianism while promoting justice and equality. 
His unwavering commitment to core democratic values, to transparency and accountability, to open dialogue, and to transcending ideological divides by putting people and their needs first, regardless of their background, – puts him very much in line with Helmut Schmidt’s own dedication to fostering democratic dialogue across divides and pursuing public service on behalf of all members of society.

Mayor İmamoğlu was first elected as mayor of Istanbul in 2019, ending 25 years of rule by President Erdogan’s AK Party and its predecessors. After his victory by a slim margin, however, the AK Party claimed voting irregularities and annulled the election, only to have Ekrem İmamoğlu win again by a far larger margin three months later.

Then, just in spring 2024, the people of Istanbul voted overwhelmingly to keep Mayor İmamoğlu in office after experiencing his leadership over the previous four years. He won the election by more than one million votes, part of a larger wave of electoral success by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). This wave of electoral success is pointing the path toward a possible future beyond the rule of the AK Party and President Erdoğan. Indeed, the Mayor himself described the results of the spring elections as “a milestone in Turkey’s history” and “the end of the erosion of democracy” in Turkey – I am sure we will hear more from the Mayor on this point in his speech and the following discussion.

The topic of this year’s lecture, “For a Just Democracy!”, not only describes the work being done by Mayor İmamoğlu, but also a central concern of the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung and its namesake, former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Widespread processes of societal change are challenging but also providing new opportunities for the future of democracy. It is our aim to critically and constructively accompany democratic change to promote greater justice and societal cohesion.

When we survey the political landscape, it is true that it seems the challenges facing democracy are outweighing the opportunities. The latest piece of evidence came only several weeks ago with the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House, the first time that a convicted felon will become president of the United States.

In Europe as well, far-right populist parties continue to grow in electoral strength while mainstream democratic parties continue to lose the trust of voters who doubt government’s ability to address today’s complex set of problems. From France and Italy to the Netherlands and Germany – several of the EU’s largest and most important member states – far-right parties are on the cusp of winning elections and coming to power, or have already done so. And far-right parties also picked up significant vote shares in the EU Parliament in elections this summer.

Here in Germany, we will soon have another electoral test for the strength of democratic parties, after the ruling coalition government collapsed less than 24 hours after Donald Trump’s election victory. The far-right – so called – Alternative for Germany (AfD) is coming off huge gains in the states of Saxony and Thuringia, and it will be a significant challenge to prevent them from becoming the second-strongest party in the Bundestag, as is currently predicted by the polls.

What is striking amidst this swing to the right is the extent to which centre-left, progressive parties have largely failed to counter the right’s messaging with a positive agenda of their own and a hopeful vision for the future. Topics such as migration and security are no doubt important, but they have come to dominate our societal debates and crowd out talk of core values undergirding progressive policy, like equality, inclusion and justice.

We are living through a time of profound uncertainty – about the future of our economies, the future of the international security order, the future of the planet, and, yes, the future of democracy. It is natural that people want protection, and want certainty, in the midst of such uncertainty and change, but it is not inevitable that they turn to populist or authoritarian politicians offering simple solutions and someone else to blame. The focus is on democratic and progressive forces which should offer their own solutions to the problems that can both reassure and inspire people to imagine a better tomorrow.

On this note, I can think of no better person to speak on this topic from his own experience, and to offer us some inspiring food for thought on reimagining the future of a just democracy, than our distinguished guest tonight: Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

But before I hand over to Mayor İmamoğlu, let me briefly say a word of thanks to the outstanding team at the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung. They have not only organised this event tonight but also put together the fourth issue of the BKHS Magazine, which we will also launch later tonight. I know that everyone in the team went above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you very much for your hard work and engagement in the last months.

And now, it is my great pleasure to give the floor to Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu – we could not imagine a more esteemed speaker to speak about ‘For a Just Democracy!’