Wolfgang Schäuble was a German politician whose political career spanned more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union, he was the longest-serving member of any democratic German parliament. Schäuble served as the 13th president of the Bundestag from 2017 to 2021.
Wolfgang Schauble Quotes
1. “Reliability is the precondition for trust.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
2. “History shows us a lot of things. It shows why the Lord’s Prayer includes the supplication: “And lead us not into temptation.” In my day, dissertations were still written by hand, or drummed out with a typewriter. In the past, you had to round up the literature, find the books and find the passages. Nowadays you click on Wikipedia or Google and you have everything you need. This probably makes it more difficult to resist temptation.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
3. “If you live beyond your means and have to restructure as a result, you pay a price.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
4. “My job is not to predict everything that might happen in the future, but to address what we can do today.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
5. “You can lead a happy life if you recognize that it’s limited and completely unpredictable from one moment to the next.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
6. “The United States lived on borrowed money for too long, inflating its financial sector unnecessarily and neglecting its small and mid-sized industrial companies.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
7. “Our balanced budget has an important psychological function. It is a signal that we can’t continue to constantly take on debt.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
8. “During the centuries-long process of Reformation and Enlightenment, Christian churches had to accept some things they didn’t like. Islam will have to do the same; otherwise it isn’t part of Europe.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
9. “I don’t want to change Islam, but if there is to be a European Islam, it must incorporate European values.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
10. “Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. But in light of Britain’s continued resistance to further integration steps, as we saw with the fiscal pact, there are limits to my optimism in this regard. It’s quite possible that we will have to create the new institutions for the euro zone first.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
11. “It is true that no member state can be required to make payments to others. But if countries want to offer voluntary assistance, as in the Greek case, this isn’t only allowed, but it’s also in Germany’s interest. We all benefit by ensuring the stability of the euro zone.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
12. “Europe has grown through crises. Each crisis also presents opportunities, and Europe has emerged stronger from each one. That is the way history unfolds. Europe is sometimes slow, and it reacts sluggishly, but it is capable of finding solutions.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
12. “The German export successes are not the result of some sort of currency manipulation, but of the increased competitiveness of companies. The American growth model, on the other hand, is in a deep crisis.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
13. “Most of the mosques were built in our cities in recent years because Turkish citizens in those neighborhoods feel a growing need for places to pray.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
14. “If we want to avoid a clash of cultures – and the jury is still out on whether we can – we’ll have to make different cultures and religions compatible with the universal nature of human rights and tolerance. But I can promise you this: Anyone who calls me an infidel at the conference will be in for a fight.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
15. “As a wheelchair user, you cant move about freely. Thats the only thing that bothers me a little. When Im in the Euro Group in Brussels, colleagues who want to talk to me have to come to me. But I hope they know that this has nothing to do with arrogance.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
16. “I don’t want to interpret the pope’s words, especially as I am one of those horrible people who fell away from the Roman church after Martin Luther.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
17. “I would caution against fueling cheap populism. First of all, every German who has spent a vacation in Greece knows that the standard of living there isn’t higher than it is in Germany. Second, Greece is paying a high price for European assistance.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
18. “If you make the state responsible for everything, you shouldn’t be surprised when you end up with a state that bears some resemblance to a dictatorship.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
19. “It has been clear for some time now that we have to do more for domestic and external security. I am prepared for that.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
20. “Many things can happen very quickly in times of crisis.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
21. “If there are possibilities for strengthening investments, they will not fail because of us. Emmanuel Macron is right when he says that we need to do more and talk less.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
22. “We need more personnel within our security agencies.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
23. “We in Germany could, for example, lower taxes. And who is against that? The Social Democrats.
We could also mobilize more private investments for public infrastructure projects liken the construction of highways. But the Social Democrats also reject this, even though they are at times similar to others abroad in their carping about the surplus. Incidentally, some of the consequences of the good economic situation are strong increases in wages, rising pensions and a strong labor market.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
24. “I’m a firm believer in the monetary union.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
25. “I think we will have to spend more on defense, for infrastructure, for extension of the broadband network and also for domestic security.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
26. “By preventing new conflicts, we avert the causes of radicalization and the risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, including in Germany.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
27. “Greece’s debts are all denominated in euros, but it isn’t clear who holds how much of those debts. For that reason, the consequences of a national bankruptcy would be incalculable. Greece is just as systemically important as a major bank.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
28. “Those who constantly qualify everything and have no opinions of their own are ultimately just as incapable of tolerance.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
29. “If the conflict in Lebanon continues, the risk of attacks will grow. This is why we must contribute to a joint (international) responsibility and help secure peace in Lebanon.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
30. “It’s understandable that Europe’s Muslims are in a difficult situation, which is partly their own doing and partly not.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
31. “A number of politicians, including those within your own party, believe Germans would be safer if the German military didn’t insert itself into so many of the world’s hot spots.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
32. “We were always faced with questions like: What about a religious community like Milli Görüs, which is represented by the Islamic Council? And what about the Central Council of Muslims? But we don’t wish to exclude people from the start.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
33. “At the moment we are facing a whole collection of difficult to forecast developments from the situation in China and the oil-price crash to the worrying news from some banks in Europe and the US. All of that is linked: Worldwide company debt is high and there is a lot of money in circulation. That is why necessary structural reforms are not being made.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
34. “I don’t know how many resolutions from the IMF or G-20 we have already written saying that such [financial] reforms are necessary for new growth.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
35. “Treaties exist so that they will be adhered to. It only serves to strengthen euroskepticism when we constantly make promises and reach agreements that we do not adhere to.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
36. “Britain is economically very closely integrated with its European partner countries. Were these ties to be cut, it would be a huge step backwards for the country and would weaken it considerably. In the era of globalisation, “splendid isolation” is not a smart option.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
37. “We in Europe need to discuss how we can improve the community. That is the correct order.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
38. “Emmanuel Macron wants to see changes in France and we support him in that. Macron has proven his courage by leading an election campaign friendly to Europe and reform against the majority opinion of the Socialist Party.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
39. “The goal of European unification can only be achieved if everyone participates, perhaps with exceptions in some areas. Not all countries are part of monetary union, and not all are in the Schengen area. But the fundamental goal should be to keep everyone on board.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
40. “If we want to make Europe stronger, then each country first has to ensure that it becomes stronger itself. This applies to Italy and France, and it applies to Germany as well. Subsequently, we in Europe need to discuss how we can improve the community. That is the correct order.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
41. “You cannot form a community of countries of different strength without a certain amount of equilibrium. That is reflected in, for example, the EU budget and the bailout programs. That is why there are net payers and net recipients in Europe. A community cannot exist if the stronger do not take responsibility for the weaker.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
42. “It is clear to us that we will have to become more involved in our neighboring regions so that the migration pressures aren’t so high there. Of course the budget negotiations will be difficult, as they always are.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
43. “Politics means competition, especially in senior positions. If you don’t know that, you’re not especially suited to politics.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
44. “The Pope was more critical of Christianity than Islam during his visit (to Bavaria). He said on several occasions that the secular world influenced by Christianity must face the idea that it may not be as attractive as it once was. The leaders of other faiths might also be well-advised to admonish their own now and then and not always direct their criticism at others.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
45. “About three million Muslims live in the country, but we have no relationship to our diverse Muslim society, despite the fact that it’s an established part of our larger society. We need to build a stronger foundation for the relationship between Muslims and the state.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
46. “We will not be able to meet the challenges of integration and the threats posed by international terrorism. If we want to prevent attacks, we’ll need more information and better integration.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
47. “I want to see religious instruction and sermons held in German in the mosques. The ideal, in my view, would be for imams to be trained in Germany and to speak our language, just as the Roman Catholic Church now holds mass in German and gave up Latin long ago.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
48. “When it comes to training imams, one needs a partner. But if we want the mosques to preach peaceful coexistence, we will have to do something about it. One goal of the conference is to find a partner for the training of imams and teachers of Islam in schools.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
49. “Religion teachers for Islam instruction are being trained now in Münster and Erlangen. This has to happen quickly. My goal is to achieve relevant results within two years.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
50. “I can’t think of many other laws we might need. For now, though, we’ll be talking to German Muslims over issues of coexistence.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
51. “We know that the abilities of European Union member states are not infinite. As such, it makes little sense for us to criticize each other.All of us accepted Sweden’s decision to introduce border controls too. And that is a country that was for decades the most open to immigration.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
52. “I suggested that countries with tighter finances think about such a [fuel] tax. We don’t have the time at the moment for months of discussion.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
53. “If the Schengen system (of border-free travel) is destroyed, Europe will be seriously endangered politically and economically. That is why we Europeans have to invest billions in Turkey, Libya, Jordan and other countries in the region as quickly as possible everybody as much as they can.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
54. “In the EU, we agree that the pressures causing migration must be reduced.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
55. “For Martin Schulz, the chancellor candidate for the center-left Social Democrats, friendly wishes don’t go far enough. He would like to see much more enthusiastic support for Emmanuel Macron than that shown by Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose comments so far have tended to be reserved. As she put it, she doesn’t see a need to change her policies because of Macron.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
56. “In China, it was always said that a double-digit rate of growth would be dangerous. Now, the country has a growth rate of 6.9 percent and suddenly that is supposed to be a catastrophe for the global economy.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
57. “The significant collapse of oil prices shows that it was previously way too high.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
58. “We are facing a whole collection of crisis-like developments that we have to watch closely. But we also have to be careful what we point to as crisis indicators.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
59. “Emmanuel Macron wants a stronger Europe, just as the chancellor and I do. I was impressed that the new president climbed onto the stage in front of the Louvre to the sound of the European anthem after his election victory. That was a very powerful symbol. It is very clear: Macron is our ally.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
60. “As for the role of France and Germany: French politics is often more self-confident then German politics due to the catastrophe in the first half of the last century. If Berlin and Paris don’t agree, then it is difficult to make progress in Europe.”
— Wolfgang Schauble
