As chancellor, I said very often to the Turkish president that I was “the chancellor of all Germans”, including those of Turkish origin, said Angela Merkel, in an interview he gave ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary of German reunification.

The former chancellor also stated that she understands the criticism from citizens, but he has “no understanding” for Alternative for Germany (AfD) voters.

“Because in recent years we have many people who live permanently in our country and have not always lived here, there is a task that we will have to undertake,” says former Chancellor Angela Merkel in her first televised interview since the end of her term, in second channel of German public television ZDF. The interview will be broadcast tomorrow, but in excerpts that have already been released, Mrs. Merkel emphasizes that in her talks with Tayyip Erdogan, the question of who is responsible for people of Turkish origin living in Germany as a second or third generation was often raised. “And I always said: Look, I’m their chancellor. Germany includes them all,” emphasizes Mrs. Merkel and, referring to the far-right’s stance on immigration, she notes: “If someone benefits at the expense of people of different origin and appearance, that for me is something I have no understanding of ».

However, the former chancellor also expresses her understanding of the discomfort of some citizens. However, he underlines, he cannot accept that someone supports for this ideas and ideologies which have nothing to do with tolerance. “I would always argue the opposite and say that in this democratic society you can express your anger in other ways,” he adds.

Answering a question about the dissatisfaction of the citizens of the former East Germany towards her, Angela Merkel states: “There were some who were very angry with me. This started around the time the euro got into trouble. The situation became polarized when many refugees came here. It was nevertheless a very extreme, noisy and intolerant group (…) But too many people saw it very differently of course. And it’s almost sad that the last impression is left by the noisiest,” he argues.

During her tenure Mrs. Merkel avoided referring to her East German past, wanting to emphasize that she was the chancellor of all Germans.

In her interview with ZDF, however, she says about her life in the GDR: “Despite all its efforts to influence young people, the GDR has naturally failed to replace the family. We had friends, we celebrated, we went on vacation with our parents. All these were experiences”, he explains and clarifies that there was a difference between the GDR state and the private lives of citizens. “But there are also experiences through the state which shape you. I mean, the presence of freedom shapes people, but so does the absence of freedom“, ends up.