People want many and different things. They often change their opinions and priorities. They are fallible, good and evil. That is a fact.
Sound policies for the future must not be illusory policies based on the good in people, because they are bound to fail. Shaping policy with the heart is not enough.
Moreover, policy must not only focus on minority causes and neglect majority issues. All citizens are ultimately minorities in different groups. This fact requires a harmonious policy taking due account of all groups.
We also need all areas of policy to work together, not just focusing on a few topical issues.
In other words, and in concrete terms: we need freedom and security, globalisation and domestic policy, tolerance and patriotism, jobs and environmental protection, a booming economy and social security, mobility by car and liveable cities.
I learned from my constitutional law expert Professor Josef Isensee at the University of Bonn that, according to the established case law of the German Federal Constitutional Court, “practical concordance” means “the search for solutions in which no constitutional asset is left behind”. The goal: Achieving a gentle balance. Konrad Hesse put it like this: “In solving problems, constitutionally protected legal interests must be assigned to one another in such a way that each of them gains reality.”54
We need to create practical concordance of all citizens’ wishes so that the new Policy 4.0 includes everyone, excludes no one and makes as many as possible happy.
Proposals:
- The parties appoint contact persons for all groups of the population on their executive boards. Conducting a dialogue with the stakeholders, they develop solutions for the entire spectrum of politics.
- The list of main concerns following recent opinion polls is published by the Minister for Future and Creativity. In cooperation with the responsible ministers, he or she examines the extent to which a balance can be struck between them without delay. Subsequently they commission their administrations with the search for creative solutions.