WEBVTT
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Bonn, on one of the most memorable
days in recent German history.
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Chancellor Willy Brandt,
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winner of
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971,
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and opposition leader Rainer Barzel at
the seventh Bundestag election.
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They just finished
a short but intense election campaign.
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With an unprecedented
advertising campaign,
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the opposition tried to win back
the parliamentary majority.
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In the hectic of this election night,
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which American senator Edward Kennedy
experienced up close,
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all discussions
focused on whether
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the social liberal coalition
will once again have the chance
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to continue its so far successful
policy on Germany and towards the East,
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and its national
political reform programme.
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Minister of Foreign Affairs Scheel
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had also worked
towards a policy of détente
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that found world-wide recognition.
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If only German voters
would honour this kind of politics.
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The CDU head office,
moments before the decision.
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When opposition leader Barzel
enters the hall,
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the election result
of 40 million Germans is certain.
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The CDU and CSU lost with
an unambiguity no one was expecting.
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We will continue to fight
to prevent disaster.
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We will continue to be the opposition.
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Joy among the liberals
and the social democrats,
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who now have a majority of
48 seats in the parliament.
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Writers like Günter Grass
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and many scientists and journalists
assisted with voter initiatives.
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For the first time
in Germany's post-war history,
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the Social Democrats
represent the largest faction
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in the German Bundestag.
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The FDP, their coalition partner,
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was able to stabilize itself
as the third power.
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This election has strengthened
the new political center.
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I will do what is necessary
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that in the next four years
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it will confirm itself
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as the great binding power
of our people.
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Now we go back to work
calmly, but with joy.
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For our Federal Republic of Germany,
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for peace,
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dedicated to the words
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with which we started our way
in the fall of 1969:
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We want to be a people
of good neighbors
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both between ourselves
and toward the outside.
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This election not only
guarantees the continuity
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of Germany's domestic and foreign policy.
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The high voter turnout
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of more than 90 percent illustrated
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that the citizens of
the Federal Republic of Germany
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actively participate in politics.
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Copyright © 2012 TITELBILD, Berlin
Subtitles: L. Corper et al.