The German Symposium - LSESU German Society

38
German Symposium 2010
President’s Memories
In an attempt to give answers to the title ‘Agenda 2020:
visions for pressing issues’ the LSE German Symposium 2010
was held in the first week of February 2010. Time and again
our annual Symposium brings together leading politicians,
business people and personalities from Germany to discuss
issues relating to German politics, society and economy.
In 2010 our numerous audience was taught a few interesting
surprises. Following a rather questionable remark on climate
change the leader of the Green Party, Claudia Roth, took the
opportunity to crack a joke. She explained that despite her
lack of Oxford education, she was well aware of the difference
between climate and weather. Loud round of applause.
The political panel discussion tried to cover a number of
different topics and it did not fail to provide an excellent
overview of German politics. Not only did the difference
between the various parties become clear, the brief outlook
on the future of the political landscape in Germany made
everyone aware how difficult the current times are.
Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors we were
able to stage the opening event for the first time off the LSE
campus in the Ballroom of the Waldorf Hilton. The venue
proved to be ideal, both in terms of its atmosphere and its
capacity. The opening event with representatives of the five
parties currently in the German government was without
any doubt one of the highlights of the 2010 Symposium.
On Tuesday, Alexander Dibelius from Goldman Sachs explained
to a fully booked lecture theatre that investment bankers do not
work 100 hours a week – much to the surprise of some students
– and Peer Steinbrueck vigorously defended the decision to buy
stolen data of German tax evaders. Steinbruecks’ event was
indeed very well received with around 400 people impressed
with the former minsters’ openness to talk about politically
sensitive subjects. And despite a few minor slips, his English
proved exemplary. During the following dinner he underlined his
positive stance on Europe – not necessarily shared by every Brit.
The perfect balance between politics, business and society
was greatly exemplified by the contribution of August Oetker
and Ulrich Wickert. Oetker in his jovial manner demonstrated
how to survive a day eating only Dr Oetker products, whereas
Wickert shared his thoughts on the responsibility of the media.
As usual our famous Oktoberfest concluded the
Symposium; in 2010 with a much celebrated
sausage grill provided by Herman Ze German.
Once again I’d like to take this opportunity to thank
my committee for its outstanding commitment and
the German Embassy for its cooperation.
To my successor and his future committee I would like to wish
all the very best and further success for the years to come.
Raphael Schöttler