German should be enshrined in the Basic Law

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung argues that the German language should be enshrined in the Basic Law, Germany's constitution, as the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has petitioned it should. "Ammending the Basic Law would not constitute an unseemly attack on ethnic minorities. The planned clause by no means constitutes 'pressure to assimilate'. But it would provide an incontestable guideline for integration. The multiple rejections it has met with unintentionally indicate that the clause is widely considered both meaningful and forceful. For example, it would preclude the claim of languages which did not originate here to be put on an equal legal footing. And in these times of internationalisation and globalisation it would preserve Germany's singularity, which has formed its citizens since time immemorial and allowed its literature to develop as it has. We should not have such qualms about introducing into our constitution what so many of our European neighbours see as a matter of course."

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