London-Berlin relationship shows importance of democracy

Speech by Sally Hamwee delivered to Herr Walter Momper, President of the Berlin House of Representatives, the London Assembly and the Mayor of London on Wed 9th Jul 2003

Herr Momper with Sally Hamwee (c) Robin Mayes

Speech to the London Assembly and the Mayor of London on the occasion of the visit on 9 July 2003 of Herr Walter Momper, the President of the Berlin House of Representatives.

Herr Momper, Guests, Colleagues

Welcome to London - are sorry that your wife, Anne, is unable to be here because of her accident.

I am particularly pleased that the launch of the relationship between the Assembly and the House of Representatives is marked not just by expressions of friendship, but by a solid piece of work.

I hope next week to confirm our joint project, Protecting Our City Environment, looking into achieving safe and high quality public realm, dealing with things like: graffiti; street lighting; fly posting; litter and the cluttering and degrading of our streets by dumping everything from chewing gum to old cars and fridges.

In both cities we were determined to choose a topic which is relevant to the powers and responsibilities of our two institutions (the Assembly and the House of Representatives)

• with opportunities for each city to learn from the other

• and above all, relevant to lives of Berliners and Londoners

and with scope for practical outcomes which can have a positive impact on the quality of life for our citizens.

I was struck by 2 particular comments among those who have endorsed project. Thomas Matussek, the German Ambassador to UK, talked of London and Berlin being examples of converging European centres.

He said: "Whenever I speak to young people in the UK, and especially in London, they do not have to be persuaded about the great and exciting future of these two cities in Europe"

Certainly, talking to young people, I recognise that. And we know that when we ask young people about their concerns, they mention crime and tackling graffiti

Sir Peter Torry, British Ambassador to Germany, said: "Scrutiny of policy and accountability are at the heart of the democratic idea."

And democracy - democratic government as the context for this work - is the other thing I want to mention.

It is a mark that the Assembly is maturing as a political institution that we are looking beyond London and the UK to how we can work with and learn from another city government to improve life in our capital.

Walter Momper has given not just his career but his life to democratic politics. Through his actions when the Iron Curtain was raised and the Berlin Wall cam down, significantly he achieved calm in a highly volatile situation. That must be one of the characteristics that personifies the importance of democracy. His experience of achieving democracy is not something our generation has had to undergo in the UK.

But we tend to forget that in this country, universal suffrage is comparatively recent - women got the vote on the same basis as men 75 years ago almost to the day

Elias Mudzuri, Mayor of Harare with Sally Hamwee

And last week, some members of the Assembly were privileged to meet the Mayor of Harare, Elias Mudzuri, a member of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe.

He was democratically elected, and forced out of his offices - he's determined that doesn't mean out of office - by Robert Mugabe's men. He made it very clear that the MDC does not want violence to depose Mugabe - it wants free and fair elections. He returned to Zimbabwe at the weekend, knowing he was likely to face imprisonment in appalling conditions (not for the first time) - or worse. He was indeed detained on his arrival, then released, but access to his offices was barred. He and others who uphold peaceful change in such circumstances are much in our minds.

The moral and physical courage shown by some politicians is humbling - and a reminder of the responsibility carried by all of us who are in elected positions.

Herr Momper, we look forward to our joint work with the Berlin House of Representatives, and to contributing to the quality of life in London and Berlin.