German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called successes by right-wing populist parties in recent European Parliament elections a "turning point" during comments to the German parliament on Wednesday.
Scholz said that a number of recent crises have caused people to call their trust and sense of security into question, and lose confidence in government.
"We have to face up to this," Scholz said.
"We need to re-establish confidence where it is lacking," said Scholz, referring to both Germany and the European Union.
"There will be no return to the good old days, most of which were never that good, but what we need is a political perspective where we can gain a good future in uncertain times," he told lawmakers.
Responsible politicians should not engage in a "competition with populists and extremists," but instead search for real solutions to issues facing the people, Scholz said.
He also said that Germany is an open society and a society that sticks together.
