German of the day: Antrag

That means motion. As in proposal.

German immigration motion passes, breaking taboo on cooperation with AfD – Narrow passage of controversial CDU-CSU motion ends longstanding boycott on cooperating with far-right party.

The German parliament has narrowly passed a motion urging tough restrictions on immigration that was highly controversial because it was backed by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party.

The motion was brought by the conservative opposition CDU-CSU and backed by, among others, the AfD, breaking a longstanding taboo on cooperation with the anti-immigration party.

German of the day: Mehrheit

That means majority.

Despite Scholz’s criticism (German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, SPD): majority of SPD voters support Merz’s asylum ban, according to poll – Scholz had protested vehemently against the CDU’s push for a turnaround on migration. A survey now shows that 66% of Germans support Merz – as do the majority of SPD voters.

German of the day: Harte Linie

That means a hard line.

When it comes to Germany’s migration policy. Something that has never been taken before. Or maybe this time doch (after all)? Could it really be possible now?? Nah.

Germany’s opposition leader Merz under fire for vowing migration crackdown – Germany’s opposition leader Friedrich Merz is under fire for vowing strict border controls if he is elected chancellor, with the frontrunner citing a deadly knife attack that was allegedly carried out by a rejected asylum seeker as justification for a migration overhaul.

The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Thursday presented a five-point migration plan calling for, among other things, a “de facto entry ban” for all people without valid documents and permanent control of all of Germany’s borders…

Merz has steadfastly ruled out the possibility of working with the controversial AfD — which has been traditionally shunned in parliament amongst Germany’s more established parties.

Yet the AfD’s candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, emphatically supported Merz’s proposals, which she claimed her party had put forward first. Weidel said that the AfD could work with the CDU in order to gather enough votes for Merz’s measures to pass.

The climate really is changing…

In Germany. When it comes to climate change, I mean.

Endlich (finally).

Germany’s likely next chancellor vows to put economy before climate – Conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz railed against the climate policies of the left-leaning parties he’ll likely have to govern with.

Germany’s economic policies have been “almost exclusively geared toward climate protection” during the reign of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Merz said during a campaign speech in the western industrial city of Bochum on Monday. “I want to say it clearly as I mean it: We will and we must change that.”

The Berlin Airlift

Only this time the planes would be leaving Berlin. And headed toward Rwanda.

Or was it Wakanda? Anyway, good luck with that. You’re going to need it.

CDU seeks to win back German voters with its own Rwanda asylum plan – Official says party favours sending refugees to third countries such as Rwanda for application processing.

“If we did this and kept it up consequently for four, six, eight weeks, we would see the numbers [claiming asylum] reduce dramatically.”

It’s about time somebody started asking these questions

Although, it may already be too late, Germany.

Germany’s CDU questions Islam’s place in society – Muslims, migration, and nuclear energy all get fresh focus in a new CDU manifesto. The draft has already drawn widespread criticism.

The new color scheme a few months back was only a cosmetic step. Now, Germany’s center-right Christian Democrats are going under the hood. For the first time since 2007, the party that ruled Germany for most of the republic’s young history has revamped its party program.

Its leaders hope this is their ticket to returning to power, which they lost in 2021. In establishing what the CDU now stands for, the draft reflects ideological differences at the very top. Chairman Friedrich Merz needed three attempts to become party leader, rebuffed by a skeptical Angela Merkel when she was still chancellor and a powerful force in the party. With her gone and Merz in charge since early last year, he is seeking a different path…

Gone are the days of recognizing that “Islam now belongs to Germany, too” as the CDU’s Christian Wulff said when he served as Germany’s president during an early Merkel government. The new draft manifesto adds a key caveat: Muslims belong to Germany so long as they “share our values.”

Forget Manhattan

First we take Sonneberg. Then we take Berlin.

When conservative parties no longer have the courage to be conservative parties (thanks again, Angela Merkel), where will many of their voters go?

German far-right party wins its first county leadership post, rising in polls – Victory of AfD’s candidate in rural Sonneberg area reflects rising popularity of anti-immigration party.

They sentenced me to 20 years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within
I’m coming now, I’m coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

German Of The Day: Vermasselt

That means botched.

Merkel’s botched succession: how Germany’s leader failed to keep her party in power – Longstanding chancellor accused of neglecting CDU and losing support of party’s rightwing.

The CDU stopped being conservative, or rightwing if you prefer, long ago. And it’s all her doing. It’s called the Merkel Method: She takes the wind out of her opponents’ sails by becoming more Green than the Greens and more Red than the Reds (SPD). The downside, of course, is that by doing so over the years she turned the CDU into them.

German Of The Day: Das Sinkende Schiff Verlassen

That means to desert the sinking ship.

Angela Merkel’s favorites have begun jumping overboard. After the CDU’s resounding election loss, and Angela Merkel’s lame duck hand no longer there to protect them, it’s time to say goodbye.

Two of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s closest political allies and most senior ministers will quit the German parliament to make way for a new generation that can rejuvenate her conservative party after its election defeat, they said.

The decision of Peter Altmaier, the economy minister, and Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, comes amid growing infighting within the conservative camp after Armin Laschet, another close Merkel ally, led it to defeat last month.

“The CDU must get itself in shape for the future. Peter Altmaier and I want to contribute to this by standing down from the Bundestag.”

Real Bourgeois Socialists Overtake Fake Bourgeois Socialists

Hauptsache (the main thing) is that bourgeois socialists remain in power. More free stuff appears to be on the way.

Germany election: SPD overtakes Merkel’s CDU in polls for first time in 15 years.

Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) has moved ahead of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the polls for the first time in fifteen years.

The SPD was polling at 23% while the CDU was one point behind at 22%, according to figures released on Tuesday by Forsa.