German politicians can’t figure out why…

Voters keep refusing to vote the way they want them to.

They keep voting right. Which is wrong.

The other Berlin Wall – Germany needs a new strategy for coping with the AfD.

Mainstream parties can’t avoid talking to the hard-right front-runner for ever…

A smattering of German words, such as Blitzkrieg and Schadenfreude, have made their way into other languages. Among the most recent to begin to do so are Zeitenwende (“turning of the times”) and Brandmauer (“firewall”). The first reflects the shift in geopolitical thinking in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; the second, mainstream politicians’ determination to isolate extreme parties. However, what was intended to signal that Germans have learned from history has instead plunged their nation into a political crisis.

German VW workers vs. Chinese counterparts

I wonder who wins?

Labor Costs, Sick Leave, Productivity: Confidential Document: VW Compares German and Chinese Workers.

Ten percent of VW workers in Germany are sick at any given time. In China it’s less than two percent.

But at least in China these workers will soon be replaced by robots who will be working 24/7 and never call in sick.

Bake this! – German bureaucracy in action

And no, this isn’t satire.

Row over weight of half a loaf leaves German baker with €15,000 bill – A customer complaint over just 10 grams of missing bread forced the Bavarian baker to install new weighing equipment across his shops.

The punch line: German politicians can’t seem to figure out why companies aren’t willing to invest in Germany anymore.

Uneducated, illiterate cops?

OK. But they should at least be able to speak the language.

Berlin police struggle to find German-speaking recruits – Berlin is struggling to recruit enough police officers because applicants are unable to speak German, according to the force’s president.

Barbara Slowik Meisel revealed that 40 per cent of applicants failed a German language skills test.

Ms Slowik Meisel said the trend, driven by increasing numbers of migrant applications, had created a dilemma for the Berlin police department: it cannot lower its standards but also urgently needs officers.

That’s Waymo than I was expecting

That Germany would allow driverless rides before the year 2060.

Waymo to launch driverless rides in Germany in 2027, entering third market outside U.S. – Alphabet’s Waymo on Tuesday said it plans to roll out robotaxi rides in Germany in 2027, marking its third international market and first in the EU.

Waymo will start “phased” testing in Munich over the next few weeks, with plans to launch to the public at the end of next year, the company said in a blog post. The testing aims to build high-definition street maps, train autonomous specialists and adapt software to the city’s “distinct driving conditions.”

“Unsavoury details”

It’s the little unsavoury details that make a big unsavoury difference.

Germany’s Nord Stream grudge – The looming trial could undermine support for Ukraine…

The first of the Nord Stream criminal trials will start on 26 October in Hamburg. It will expose many unsavoury details. The prosecutors might ask questions such as: who ordered the attacks? What did President Volodymyr Zelensky know? When did he know it? The attack left Germany in a perma-energy crisis.

“Germany’s Most Dangerous Politician”

Cashes in on being Germany’s most dangerous politician.

Election Campaign Hype on eBay: 1,000 Euros for a Siegmund Autograph on the “Spiegel” Cover – Election-campaign frenzy at the online auction site eBay! There, a private seller sold an autograph by AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund (35) for the state election (September 6) in Saxony-Anhalt on an issue of Der Spiegel titled “Germany’s Most Dangerous Man.” Highest bid: 1,010 euros!

A total of 43 bids were placed. In the listing, the seller assured buyers: “You are bidding on an original, hand-signed (not a copy or print) autograph by Ulrich Siegmund on a Spiegel issue. I hope you enjoy bidding!” Beneath the AfD politician’s signature is the date from last Saturday (August 15, 26).

And those are just the nice labels

Calling AfD voters the n-word (nazis) is the most popular pastime of the German Mind Police these days.

This makes it easier for the established parties to maintain their “firewall” in order to protect themselves from competition, i.e. from having to do what the voters want them to do (see migration, energy, bureaucracy, etc.).

Germany’s AfD is labeled far right, populist or extremist – Right wing, far right, fascist: Many terms are being thrown around in the debate about the AfD. What do they mean, and how appropriate are they when discussing the Af

Actually, when you stop to think about it, you’re right to insult us

If I were you, I would insult us too

Germany rethinks law protecting politicians from insults – Criminal investigations of people who have referred to Merz as “Pinocchio” and “Lying Fritz” have prompted calls for reform across the political divide.

Germany’s political parties have converged on an unusual point of agreement: A law penalizing citizens for insulting politicians needs to change, following controversial investigations of people who mocked Chancellor Friedrich Merz as “Pinocchio” and “Lying Fritz.”

But while politicians across the spectrum agree the law needs fixing — they just can’t agree how, or when, to change it.

CAF cases spreading rapidly across Germany

The recent outbreak of CAF (Climate Action Fatigue) is still spreading across the Federal Republic of Germany.

Media authorities are highly concerned and have intensified their efforts to get German minds back under control. Unnamed sources say they may even have to call for the mandatory use of face masks.

In Germany record heat meets climate action fatigue – For the German government climate action does not seem to be a priority — despite record temperatures, heat-related deaths and drought. Why don’t more people take to the streets in protest?