Joschka Fischer

Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born April 12, 1948) is a politician of the German Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) who was Vice Chancelor and Foreign Minister (1998–2005).

Joschka Fischer in 2006

Quotes

• "Stalin war also so ein Typ wie wir, nicht nur, daß er sich auch als Revolutionär verstanden und gelebt hat, sondern er war im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes eben auch ein Typ." … [Wir müssen] "diese psychische Kaputtheit aus uns endlich rauslassen … Es ist unser und mein dunkelstes Kapitel, ich weiß, oder ahne es besser nur, weil ich da selber wahnsinnig Angst vor bestimmten Sachen in mir habe. Bartsch und Honka sind Extremfälle, aber irgendwo hängt das als Typ in dir drin … dann wurde dann leicht auch, ja, die Lust am Schlagen draus, ein tendenziell sadistisches Vergnügen."
  • Stalin was a guy like we are, not only that he considered himself a revolutionary and lived like one, but he was a character in the truest sense of the word... We have finally to let out this psychological wreckage... it is our and my darkest chapter, I know or better to say I suspect it, because I am extremely afraid of certain things that are inside of me. Bartsch and Honka are extreme cases, but in some sense this is as personality inside of oneself... then it easily developed into, yes, the thrill of punching, tending to be a sadistic pleasure.
  • Autonomie, No. 5 (1977)

• Mit Verlaub, Herr Präsident, Sie sind ein Arschloch.
  • With all due respect, Mr President, you are an asshole.
  • Said to German Bundestag vice president Richard Stücklen after he excluded Jürgen Reents because he described Helmut Kohl as von Flick freigekauft [bought out by Flick) (1984-10-18); from S. Krause-Burger: Joschka Fischer. Der Marsch durch die Illusionen.

• Let’s forget the reunification, let’s just shut up and don't talk about that topic for the next 20 years.
  • Vergessen wir die Wiedervereinigung. Halten wir die nächsten 20 Jahre die Schnauze darüber (Autumm 1989)

• Ich sehe uns schon mit Dreadlocks da sitzen und eine riesige Tüte rauchen, im Hintergrund Reggae-Music und vor uns ein dampfendes Bier. Im Ernst: Wie stellen Sie sich das vor?
  • I can already picture us sitting there with dreadlocks, smoking a huge joint, listening to reggae music and in front of us a steaming beer. Seriously: Can you imagine such a thing?
  • After the 2005 Bundestags election discussion of the so-called Jamaica coalition.

• My name is Mr. Fischer. What’s your name?
  • When asked about his name by President Bush (2005-10-22) [1]

• Excuse me, I am not convinced.
  • Adressing U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with regard to the Iraq War at the 39th Security Conference in Munich[2]

Others of Joschka Fischer

• /.../I would never shake the hand of a person like the German foreign minister, nor would I let him in my house. He is the prototype of a shameful politician; the one who makes a career as a protester and a friend of the peace, in order to use his official ideals to get a well paid position as a war mongering foreign minister. A political scum.
  • Jan Myrdal in a speech against the European Union in the Swedish town Falun. [3]