Weeks after resignation

Nehammer: 1st public appearance after resignation

Karl Nehammer appeared at the Munich Security Conference.

(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

Karl Nehammer is back in the limelight: the former chancellor took part in a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference. It was the 52-year-old's first public appearance since his resignation at the beginning of January. 

Under the title "Zeitenwende on tour", the discussion in the Bavarian capital on Thursday covered topics such as democracy, European security and the current migration crisis (see link below).

Familiar positions repeated
In terms of content, there were few surprises from Nehammer, who repeated his familiar positions. "International conflicts, from Ukraine to the Middle East, have a serious impact on Europe's security. Europe must become more resilient in order to protect its citizens," he wrote after the discussion on X.

Uncontrolled migration endangers the internal security of European countries. A joint rethink at European level is essential.

Karl Nehammer

Solving the asylum crisis as a "question of fate for the EU"
He described the solution to the asylum crisis as a "question of fate for the European Union", which could weaken or strengthen the community of states. "Uncontrolled migration jeopardizes the internal security of European countries. A joint rethink at European level is essential."

People are not inherently more evil or less tolerant than they were when the Geneva Refugee Convention was created. What has been lost, however, is a certain amount of trust in the regulatory competence of democracy. That is a very dangerous development.

Karl Nehammer

Need for reform of the Geneva Refugee Convention
He sees a need for reform in the Geneva Refugee Convention, for example, as the regulations are now breaking with reality: "Refugees have become internationalized". However, the European legal systems are not up to this development and the overburdening of the systems is leading to radicalization. "People are not inherently more evil or less tolerant than they were when the Geneva Refugee Convention was created. What has been lost, however, is a certain amount of trust in democracy's ability to regulate. That is a very dangerous development."

(Bild: APA/AFP/Ozan KOSE)

"Security brings freedom"
Security is therefore an important issue. "Because freedom requires security and security brings freedom. If people feel insecure, they feel less free. And when they feel less free, they feel threatened. And when they feel threatened, they turn to radicalism because it seems to provide answers, even though we all know it doesn't. But at least it sounds like hope".

Nehammer therefore advocated acting and governing pragmatically: "We have to move away from the moral claim of what is good in each case and move towards the pragmatic, the rule of law, but with a sense of order. So that people have the feeling that the state and the European Union have the situation under control."

This applies not only to the issue of migration, but also to defense. "There are many problems that we have to solve as Europeans, and it doesn't matter whether I am neutral or not, I can get involved everywhere."