Tag Archives: willy brandt

The Independent View: Remembering Willy Brandt, the chancellor of change

Willy BrandtThis May marked the 40th anniversary of the resignation of Willy Brandt, chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974, in the wake of a political scandal in which a close aide was revealed to be a spy for East Germany.

Despite the way in which he was forced to leave office, Brandt and his government (a coalition of socialists and liberals) left behind a legacy of radical reform that had turned West Germany into a fairer society, and remains an inspiration to progressives today.

Elected in 1969, Brandt inspired many people with his calls for greater democracy and experiments in the domestic sphere. Over the next five years, Brandt’s socialist-liberal government did much to meet people’s expectations for change.

Posted in The Independent View | 8 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • e
    Following 'fearless' Farage's initial announcement the 'Daily Express' comment section was full of outraged Reform voters blaming 'Labour Yobs' for a planned ph...
  • Ken Westmoreland
    @Cody Nice piece, but I fear that many Lib Dem members see the OTs as embarrassing anachronisms and economic parasites; when I wrote a piece on them nearly two ...
  • Tim
    @cim, when there is demand for workers, people train in the relevant skills - just look at Milton K, which builds far more houses relative to population than mo...
  • Simon Robinson
    Very good article @Rob. Yes, the housing shortage is indeed the major cause of the cost of living crisis, and your analysis of how that is pushing rents and hou...
  • George Thomas
    I have seen a George Monbiot Question Time clip where he explains that Wales could have been one the wealthiest parts of the UK but it's been the subject of an ...