For 50 years I have been living in Hamburg. This is where I went to school and where I learned my job. I enjoy living in this beautiful city.
For more than 30 years I have worked for the people here and given them my voice, both as a communal politician in Alstertal (Northern part of Hamburg), and as a member of the Hamburg executive of the SPD.

I have been especially involved in the cultural domain in Hamburg to guarantee and increase the sector's vitality. The creation of the Hamburg cultural forum has been one of my contributions, as well as my position as chairman of the supervisory board of the Ernst Deutsch theater company.

Despite all my political dedication - I have never been the typical professional politician.

In fact, as a young man I have earned my living in the petroleum industry, then in the transport industry, for a short period in the Hamburg City Hall, and for 15 years as the director of a welfare organisation. This has provided me with job experience on the one hand, but more important it has kept my feet firmly on the ground.

My job with the Samaritan Workers Federation has shown me the social reality in Hamburg quite plainly: We need to be careful, that the gap between the rich and the poor is not widening any further. In order to achieve this aim more has to be done in Hamburg. Beyond that, it is also necessary to make the right fundamental decisions for a socially just society in Brussels. That is what I am campaigning for.

I always liked to take on responsibility: Whether in my family, towards co-workers, or in organizing emergency aid for families in need, as for instance after the flood in 2002 in Saxony and the Czech Republic, by distributing donations of 13 million Euro to the victims.

As a Member of the European Parliament my share of responsibility is on a different level. It is essential not to jeopardize the peace project European Union through antisocial policies, far removed from the citizens. The people will start again to identify more with Europe, if the EU will successfully be shaped more progressively, i.e. put more emphasis on social values and justice.

I will continue to be present in Hamburg. The people's confidence in European politics and the European Parliament can only grow, if the people in Hamburg know what their representative is doing in Brussels and that he is actually speaking on their behalf.