On the ten points on a German Leitkultur (guiding culture) published on 30 April by the Federal Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maizière, the initiator of the WerteInitiative, Dr Elio Adler, stated:
“The discussion initiated by the interior minister about the way in which we live together was long overdue, for a society needs more than a shared constitution if it is to hold together under pressure. We therefore expressly welcome his contribution, even though we see a few of the points in a somewhat different light. Religion, for example, should be only ONE possible ‘glue holding society together’, since putting it in absolute terms excludes people who are not religious. In our paper ‘Jüdische Positionen zur Bundestagswahl’ we prefer to speak of a ‘liberal-democratic Leitkultur’ rather than a ‘German Leitkultur’, because this serves a values-based integration into society better. All those who are now loudly crying ‘election campaign tactics’ should engage intensively and substantively with the points, so as not to find themselves faced with the accusation of campaign posturing.”
