The choice of words

The rarely used German word “Sacharbeit” – almost untranslatable in another language – has turned into an all-purpose term for the officials of the German government and their respective parties since the losses in the recent regional elections. What they mean is that it is time to leave quarrels aside, especially personal ones, and focus on concrete actions.

It could well be that the intended effect of popularity will not occur. First, the recognition that a government is there to govern is pretty obvious and may therefore have a modest effect on public opinion, if any at all. Second, the experience of the German Socialist Party shows that despite efficient work in the grand coalition governments, “Sacharbeit” has failed to stop its electoral erosion and its loss of popularity. Why should things be different this time?

One lesson drawn may be that a government or a political party is not comparable to a mail order catalogue. Certainly, the implementation of concrete political actions is an important part of governing. But is it enough?

Apparently not. Citizens, in Germany or elsewhere, seek meaning beyond actions. Taken one by one, actions do not give any orientation. Fundamentally, the citizens expect a response to the question of why actions are taken. One could call this the pedagogy of action, but it goes far beyond.

The quest for meaning corresponds to a need to understand. It responds to the need to know what the convictions of each other are? What does a government or a political party stand for? To these essential questions, only values can provide a satisfactory answer. Only values are meaningful enough to guide and differentiate other.

The two major parties in the coalition are in a process they call renewal. The party of the Chancellor must settle the succession at the head of the party and the Socialist Party seeks a formula to stop the erosion that the party is facing. It is perhaps less renewal that these parties need, rather than clearly defining what they represent, and which values ​​define themselves, to then translate them into a coherent political offer. They must certainly rediscover the courage of the choice of words.