The president of the Bundestag can call a speaker back to the subject. This is the Sachruf. A speaker called back to the subject three times in one speech can lose the floor. The president can also call a member to order by name when the member violates the order or the dignity of the house. This is the Ordnungsruf. Three calls to order within three sitting weeks bring a fine of 2,000 euros, and 4,000 euros in a repeat case. In November 2025 the Bundestag rejected objections by AfD members to calls to order they had received. Vice President Andrea Lindholz explained the line. Members may “hart in der Sache diskutieren,” argue hard on the substance. They may not give up decency and a dignified manner toward one another.
Criticism of the Matter, Not the Person
German constitutional law protects sharp criticism. It does not protect Schmähkritik, abusive criticism. The Federal Constitutional Court defines this narrowly. A statement is abusive criticism only when “nicht mehr die Auseinandersetzung in der Sache, sondern die Diffamierung der Person im Vordergrund steht.” The debate about the matter is no longer in the foreground, and the defamation of the person is. Even exaggerated and abusive criticism is not Schmähkritik for that reason alone. In August 2020 the court overturned the conviction of a man in preventive detention. During a dispute over late pocket money, he had called a social worker at the prison a Trulla, a disparaging word for a woman.
Lawyers Must Keep to the Matter
Section 43a of the Federal Lawyers’ Act says that a lawyer may not behave unsachlich, without regard to the matter, in practicing the profession. The law names two examples in particular. One is the deliberate spreading of untruths. The other is disparaging remarks for which the other parties or the course of the proceedings gave no cause.
The rule does not forbid sharp argument. It forbids attacks that the case itself does not justify.
Germany Talks
Before the federal election of 2017, the editors of Zeit Online created Deutschland spricht, Germany Talks. Participants answer political questions with yes or no. A program then pairs people who live close to each other and whose answers are as different as possible. The pairs meet in person to argue. On a Sunday in June 2017, 1,200 people met in pairs to argue. In September 2018 there were 8,000. The jury of the Grimme Online Award said the project fostered respect between political opponents and served democracy “im besten Sinne,” in the best sense.
The Last Trick
Around 1830, Arthur Schopenhauer wrote a short manuscript on the tricks people use to win arguments. It was found among his papers and is known as Die Kunst, Recht zu behalten, The Art of Being Right. The last trick reads: Wenn man merkt, daß der Gegner überlegen ist und man Unrecht behalten wird, so werde man persönlich, beleidigend, grob. When you notice that your opponent is superior and you are going to lose, become personal, insulting and rude. Schopenhauer explains that this means leaving the matter and attacking the person. He calls it an appeal from the powers of the mind to those of the body, or to the animal. His remedy is great composure.
Words for Empty Talk
Schaumschläger
Froth-beater, also the word for a whisk. Duden defines it as a person who pretends to qualities or abilities that he does not have, especially from a need for recognition.
Blender
Dazzler. Someone who wins people over with outward advantages and so hides his weaknesses.
Phrasendrescher
Phrase-thresher. Someone who makes speeches that sound fine but say nothing.
Wichtigtuer
Someone who makes himself important.
Selbstdarsteller
Self-presenter. Someone whose actions serve to display himself.
Heiße Luft
Hot air. Das ist doch nur heiße Luft. That is only hot air.
Angeber, Großmaul
Show-off, bigmouth.
The Smallest Common Reality
In March 2021, the chemist and science journalist Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim published Die kleinste gemeinsame Wirklichkeit, The Smallest Common Reality. The subtitle is Wahr, falsch, plausibel? Die größten Streitfragen wissenschaftlich geprüft. True, false, plausible? The biggest disputes, checked by science. The book reached number one on the Spiegel bestseller list in the month it came out. Later that year, Nguyen-Kim won the Grimme Prize for her explanations of the coronavirus.
Words for Testing a Claim
Hinterfragen
To question what lies behind something. Duden: to ask about the background, conditions and foundations of a thing. The usual phrase is etwas kritisch hinterfragen.
Jemandem auf den Zahn fühlen
To feel someone’s tooth. To examine a person very critically.
Nachhaken, nachbohren
To hook in again, to drill again. To keep asking until the answer is complete.
Wie kommen Sie auf die Zahl?
How did you arrive at that number?
Hand und Fuß haben
To have hand and foot. It is said of a plan or an argument that is well thought through. Der Plan muss aber Hand und Fuß haben.
The Arbitration on Live Television
Stuttgart 21, the plan to put Stuttgart’s main station underground, was first presented to the public in 1994. The formal approval procedure began in 2001. In 2010, when construction started, the protests grew. On 30 September 2010, the police used water cannons in the palace garden, and hundreds of people were injured. The state’s premier then proposed an arbitration led by Heiner Geißler, a former CDU federal minister. From 22 October to 30 November 2010, supporters and opponents argued over the facts in Stuttgart’s city hall, and the sessions were broadcast live on television, radio and the internet. The news channel Phoenix had its second-highest ratings up to that time. A year later, on 27 November 2011, the state held a referendum on leaving the project. Statewide, 58.9 percent voted against leaving it.
Controversial in Class
In 1976, at a conference held by the Baden-Württemberg state agency for civic education in Beutelsbach in Swabia, scholars of civic education found three points they could agree on. They are still an important reference for civic education. Teachers may not overwhelm students into holding desired opinions. Students must be enabled to analyze a political situation and their own interests. And the second rule reads: Was in Wissenschaft und Politik kontrovers ist, muss auch im Unterricht kontrovers erscheinen. (What is controversial in scholarship and politics must also appear controversial in the classroom.)