If, in recent times, I’ve wanted to know about what happened all those years ago, it’s precisely because of my marriage (in fact, I did not want to know, but I have since come to know about it).
A quote from Javier Marías.
Not wanting to know and yet having to know about the past. That was a common theme in the life of the great Javier Marías, who recently passed away. It is also the theme of the novel A Heart So White, which brought him international fame and is the source of this quote. A Heart So White tells the story of a man – many of you know it – who does not want to know but ends up knowing anyway. It is the tale of a marriage, of a family, but also a tale of morals and politics, of entanglements in a dictatorship and of human freedom. In short, A Heart So White is as universal as this writer’s entire body of work. With his singular use of language, he captivated a large readership – including here in Germany, thanks to the excellent translations. We, too, have a great deal to thank this committed European for.
Su Majestad Felipe VI, Rey de España, Su Majestad Letizia, Reina de España – Your Majesties, the literature, the wonderfully rich, diverse and multilingual literature of your country, will have an extremely important role to play in the coming days, and I am very much looking forward to it. A very warm welcome to Schloss Bellevue! It is a great pleasure and a great honour for me to welcome Your Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain here today as my guests! Es para mí un gran placer dirigirme hoy a los invitados y a las invitadas de este Banquete de Estado en honor al Rey y a la Reina de España.
Your Majesties, Excellencies, esteemed guests, it is not least literature that connects people to one another, across borders and continents. And in these times, we desperately need things that connect us. How wonderful that Spain is this year’s Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair – something we had all long hoped for. And how wonderful that we, Your Majesty, will be opening the Book Fair tomorrow together! Spilling Creativity
, that will be your country’s motto, and it is precisely this, this spilling-over, this creativity, that has so many Germans fascinated and enthused by Spain and its culture.
It is almost exactly four years ago that my wife and I had the privilege of visiting you in Madrid, and I well remember the conversations that we held then in a spirit of mutual trust and the many exciting things that I saw and experienced during my visit. It was a visit to friends, and I hope that you will feel the same about your time with us in Germany now.
Four years is a long time. How much has happened in that time, how many certainties – certainties held by us Europeans in particular – have been severely put to the test or entirely swept away. They are years that many people across Europe have experienced as a multiple crisis. First came the pandemic, which showed us all how vulnerable we are as humans. Your country, too, was hard hit by the coronavirus. I am thankful, Your Majesty, that we were able to remain in close contact at this time that kept so many of us far apart.
Then came the 24 February 2022, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, of an independent neighbouring country, a terrible war with all of its brutal consequences. This war is bringing endless suffering, death and destruction to the people of Ukraine. This war has shocked us all. And we all share a clear commitment: we stand by Ukraine’s side – with humanitarian, financial and military support.
However, we can also see that, the longer this war lasts, the more people are worried about peace and security across the continent. And the longer it lasts, the more acutely its consequences are felt. Inflation, sharply rising energy costs, disrupted supply chains – all of these have become concerns for the people of our countries.
And then there is climate change, which is already inflicting considerable suffering on you in Spain. But our country, too, is feeling the unmistakeable effects of global warming. Terrible drought, heat and water shortages on the one hand, heavy rain and flooding on the other – all of this is affecting the people of both our countries with increasing regularity.
What is crucial for me is that we face up to all of these challenges together! The friendship, the ties that bind our two countries have become deeper and closer yet over the past months and years – between our governments, but in every other area too, in business, in culture, in science and research. I am deeply thankful for the gift of this German-Spanish friendship.
It is a friendship that has developed over many years, indeed over centuries – from Charlemagne, to whom we still today owe your visits to Aachen as patron of the Charlemagne Prize, to Charles V, to whom we do not only owe quotes about the German and Spanish languages, God and a horse, to Alexander von Humboldt, who set off from A Coruña for his research trip to the Americas – the same place where our two countries’ governments met this month. Today, in this time that we are experiencing as a profound multiple crisis, our friendship is particularly precious – I believe that all of us here in the room feel this.
We all know that the tasks ahead of us are truly great. I believe it is nothing less than an epochal shift that we are currently experiencing. This makes it all the more important now for us Europeans to show unity and stand together, to remember and protect our values – as you said this morning, Your Majesty – internally and externally: respect for human rights, the rule of law and freedom. What is at stake is nothing less than protecting our democracy! I know, Your Majesties, that you both work passionately and wholeheartedly for our united Europe as a place of peace and justice. “Let’s trust Europe, let’s trust ourselves, as Europeans,” you once said, Your Majesty.
Our two countries, Spain and Germany, are bound by a quite fundamental experience: our democracies only developed in a peaceful, united Europe. And precisely because of our history, we know of the dangers that emerge when liberal societies are increasingly called into question from within. We must tackle this danger, with resolve and the greatest conviction!
However, I am also certain that we will be able to draw strength from our deep friendship and develop plenty of ideas – indeed, spilling creativity. It is in part thanks to our two countries as close friends that we in Europe are tackling the great crises of this age together, that we will overcome them. We Germans are pleased to know that we have you, your country, by our side – as partners and as friends who can learn from one another.
I also draw optimism from the fact that it is primarily the young people of our two countries who are in close contact with one another, who find it quite natural to spend some time living in the other country, studying there, working, learning its language, reading its literature. Because it is young people who will shape our and above all their future, their shared European future – the future of a united, peaceful Europe such as the great writer Javier Marías stood for. “Everything can be told, even what you don’t want to know about and don’t ask about and yet listen to when it is told,” we read at the end of A Heart So White – that is Marías’ legacy to us all.
May I now ask you to raise your glasses and join me in toasting to the health of Your Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. To your good health, too, honoured guests, and to the friendship between our two countries!