Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has outed himself as a bookworm. "We all - and I include myself in this - share a love of reading," said the SPD politician on Wednesday evening at the opening of the book fair in Leipzig. "Whether as a child in the evening before going to sleep, as a young politician on the train between Hamburg and Bonn, or now, whenever my time allows - books have accompanied me through my life for as long as I can remember."
He is no more committed to a particular genre than the trade fair is: Science or society, adventure or thriller, non-fiction or novel. "If you let yourself, there's a surprise waiting behind the book cover that we often miss out on online, because algorithms show us what we think is good anyway, or what we should think is good." If you allow yourself to, you will find something interesting, exciting or touching everywhere.
Whoever reads allows other perspectives than their own, takes a personal interest in developments, says Scholz. With every chapter, with every new page, opposites that seem unbridgeable in everyday life can be overcome. "Reading is therefore daily proof that we can understand each other despite our differences, that our societies in Germany and Europe are by no means doomed to drift apart."
Scholz appealed: "Let us not follow those who want to divide us, who want to deny that entire groups in this country belong to our society. Let us never believe those whose answers ultimately amount to intolerance, exclusion and hatred." This would ruin the country "not only morally, but also economically".
The speech was interrupted several times by demonstrators at the beginning. Several activists spread throughout the Gewandhaus shouted loudly into the speech. Large parts of the protest were drowned out by prolonged applause from the audience. "The power of words brings us all together here in Leipzig - not shouting," said Scholz, accompanied by applause. After a few minutes, he was able to continue his opening speech.
The Leipzig Book Fair - the most important German literary show after Frankfurt - runs from Thursday to Sunday. 2085 exhibitors from 40 countries are presenting their books and new publications. After positive advance sales, an increase in visitor numbers is expected; last year 274,000 people attended.
The Netherlands and Flanders are presenting themselves as the guest country this year as a common language and cultural area under the motto "Everything but flat". Around 100 events with 41 authors are planned.
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