Press Release, 27 October 2026
Geht’s noch? Can we still talk to each other?
: Geht’s noch? A discussion on home, belonging and democracy after the elections in eastern Germany and Berlin. With Mathias Brodkorb, Paula Fürstenberg, Elisabeth Kaiser, Philipp Schulz and Deniz Yücel.”>
If Jürgen Habermas is right in arguing that democratic legitimacy derives not only from elections and votes, but also from the process of public opinion and will formation that precedes them, then democracy in Germany – and democracies across the Western world – is seriously at risk. Less because political conflicts exist than because of an inability to address those conflicts within a shared, binding democratic framework.
Is that still possible today? Can people with different political views still talk to each other? What has changed in recent years? Are there differences between western and eastern Germany? And what ways forward are there?
The writers’ association PEN Berlin invites you to a discussion of these questions with Elisabeth Kaiser, the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany; political commentator Mathias Brodkorb; writer Paula Fürstenberg; and journalist and PEN Berlin spokesperson Deniz Yücel. The event also marks the conclusion of PEN Berlin’s discussion series on the theme of “Heimat” – home and belonging. Under the title “Ist das noch|schon mein Land” (“Is this still|already my country?”), the series brought together 243 participants at 80 events in 2026, ahead of state elections in five German states: Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin.
“Geht’s noch?”
Sunday, 1 November 2026, 3 p.m.
Berliner Ensemble, Neues Haus