Author Archives: Hermann Observer

German Of The Day: Königmacher

September 28, 2021 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helections Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means kingmaker.

You know, as in Germany’s FDP party (classic liberal, business-friendly)? They will most likely decide what kind of coaltion Germany will now get. Either SPD-Green-FDP or CDU-Green-FDP. Unless, of course, negotiations fail and they go back to another grand goalition of CDU-SPD, which absolutely nobody wants.

Germany’s FDP holds strong cards in post-election haggling – Buoyant from its best election result in 10 years, Germany’s liberal FDP party looks set to play a outsized role in coalition negotiations to form the next government…

The FDP wants to avoid tax increases and preserve Germany’s cherished debt brake, while the SPD and the Greens want to raise the minimum wage, increase taxes for the wealthy and and invest public money in tackling climate change.

“The coalition issue is extremely difficult for the FDP. Its members do not want the FDP to be propping up a left-wing government,” said political scientist Oskar Niedermeyer of the Free University of Berlin.

German Of The Day: Fünfprozenthürde

September 27, 2021 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helections, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means the “five percent hurdle.” A political party has to get at least five percent of the votes in order to get seats in the German Bundestag.

The Left Party (communists pretending not to be communists) received only 4.9 percent in yesterday’s election so they’re out. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer party. Don’t let the door hit you and all that.

So, with them gone, the local Berlin vote to pass the non-binding referendum to expropriate real estate companies (already deemed illegal by Germany’s highest court) takes on an even more fantastic touch.

Germany: Berlin locals vote to expropriate real estate giants – Berliners cast their referendum votes on whether to nationalize thousands of housing units owned by real estate giants. After counting 27% of the votes, results found that over half voted yes while just 39% voted no.

Most Germans Find Religion Unimportant

September 24, 2021 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

A survey says. Most Germans also find that they are miserable and without purpose or direction and in desperate search of some Ersatzreligion (substitute religion – see apocalyptic environmentalism and climate activism), my observation says. But maybe that’s just me.

Most Germans find religion unimportant, survey shows – A significant majority of Germans say religion plays no role in their life, a poll has shown. Fewer than one in eight adults believe that faith makes the world a fairer place, although younger people were more positive.

Who “Incited” What?

September 23, 2021 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Health, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Where? And for what reason?

It couldn’t have been the German government and its COVID-19 cluelessness, arbitrary measures that changed practically on a weekly basis or the thinly-veiled threats against those in Germany who refuse to get vaccinated, right?

German official slams online ‘incitement’ after mask killing – A 49-year-old German man was arrested Sunday over the the fatal shooting a day earlier in the western town of Idar-Oberstein. Authorities said the suspect told officers he rejected the measures against the coronavirus.”

“It was a cold-blooded murder,” Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin, noting that the suspect had initially gone home after being refused service for failing to wear a mask, only to return later and shoot the clerk in the head.

“The question is, what is the environment, what are the circumstances in which such a crime can occur?” he asked. “This has a lot to do with the incitement, the hatred, that is posted on social media.”

The Eurozone Doesn’t Work Now With It’s Current Member States

September 22, 2021 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

I know, the EU’s bureaucratic hive mind says, let’s add another broke country to see how that doesn’t work then either.

Concerns Rise as Bulgaria Prepares to Join the Euro – Bulgaria has significant problems with corruption and money laundering. Nevertheless, the European Union is prepared to accept the country as the next member of the eurozone. Many fear that might be a bad idea.

German Of The Day: Mund-Nasen-Schutz

September 21, 2021 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means mouth and nose protection. You know, a face mask?

They keep you safe. Unless you’re a gas station employee asking a customer to put one on. Then they can be dangerous, deadly even. Remember the days when gas station employees were endangered by people who were already wearing the face masks when they came in?

Germany: Gas station employee killed over a face mask – A 20-year-old clerk was shot after asking a customer to wear a face mask in Germany. The suspected shooter said he was stressed out by coronavirus measures.

Two Votes Per Voter?

September 20, 2021 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Ain’t no big deal. In the USA (some call it The Banana Republic) Democrat voters get eight or nine votes each.

Shoot. Even dead Democrat voters get more than two.

Two Votes and Coalition Talks: How the German Election Works – German voters elect a new parliament on Sept. 26 in a vote that will determine who succeeds Chancellor Angela Merkel after her 16 years in power.

Every voter gets two votes: one for a directly elected candidate, the other for a party list.

Merkel Germany: The Integration Nation

September 19, 2021 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Germans in Berlin are integrating into Syrian culture much easier than expected.

Merkel’s Legacy Comes to Life on Berlin’s ‘Arab Street’ – Refugees from Syria have changed the cultural makeup of Germany’s capital in a way not seen since the 1960s.

“It’s just like back home,” said Hamad, 27, a Palestinian born and raised in a Damascus refugee camp. “We know how to trim beards better than the Germans do. But they’re better with color.”