Tag Archives: Elections

Sometimes UN, sometimes U Out

September 17, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Ain’t nobody gonna listen to you at the UN anyway.

Merz cancels UN visit after AfD election win puts his leadership on the ropes – German chancellor gets support from state leaders but further far-right gains this weekend could spell the end.

Powerful German state leaders from Friedrich Merz’s party have rallied behind him as speculation builds that his days in office may be numbered.

The chancellor’s hold on power has looked increasingly shaky since a bombshell regional election result earlier this month in which the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party routed his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Saxony-Anhalt.

With two more states heading to the polls on Sunday where the AfD is expected to perform well, Merz cancelled a plan to speak at the UN general assembly in New York next week because “his presence is required in Berlin”, a government official said on condition of anonymity.

“Elections still closed to foreigners” in Berlin?

September 15, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I don’t understand.

How could elections not be closed to foreigners? In Berlin or anywhere else.

In cosmopolitan Berlin, elections still closed to foreigners – A quarter of Berlin residents will have no say in the German capital’s city-state election because they lack citizenship. That’s the highest proportion of residents excluded from the election yet, and many are unhappy.

My name is Mustafa…

September 14, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

And I’m a communist.

How Mustafa is taking on the far-right Eastern Germany – We followed Mustafa through the final weeks of his campaign for the Left in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. What matters to young people in Saxony-Anhalt?

When we first meet Mustafa, there are only a few weeks left until the state election in Saxony-Anhalt. He is a candidate for The Left (Die Linke), which, alongside the AfD, is one of the most popular parties among young people in Germany.

German politicians can’t figure out why…

September 4, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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.

“Germany’s Most Dangerous Politician”

August 19, 2026 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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).

Germans would never meddle in Hungary’s election process

April 9, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s common knowledge that they simply ADORE Viktor Orbán and would never even think of doing or saying anything to discredit him.

Germany accuses JD Vance of hypocrisy over claim that EU meddled in Hungary’s election – Government spokesperson remarks that the U.S. vice president may himself be guilty of interfering in the vote.

Why Germany’s anti-AfD firewall is crumbling?

March 29, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Because the party that needs it as life insurance (the SPD) has fallen into the abyss.

You don’t need life insurance anymore when you’re already dead.

Germany’s so-called “firewall” was designed to prevent the resurgence of antidemocratic ideology and has shaped German politics for decades. Now, mounting voter support for the far-right AfD is exposing cracks.

German of the day: Totgesagte leben länger

March 7, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means those declared dead live longer, or there’s life in the old dog yet.

At least I hope so, in this case. There aren’t many political parties in Germany that dare to call for freedom of choice – or freedom itself.

Germany’s pro-business liberals risk death blow in regional vote – The Free Democratic Party has played a key role in German politics for most of the postwar era, but a poor result in a state vote on Sunday could mean its demise.

Germany’s pro-business Free Democrats, on the brink of political extinction, face a make-or-break state vote this Sunday that party leaders believe may well be their last chance to claw back relevance.

Leaders of the fiscally conservative Free Democratic Party (FDP) — which was part of Germany’s previous, ill-fated coalition government under former Chancellor Olaf Scholz — have long pinned their hopes for a national revival on this Sunday’s election in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, traditionally one of the party’s strongholds.

German of the day: Verdreifachen

September 15, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

That means to triple.

Support for far-right triples in western German vote, early forecasts show – Support for Germany’s far right surged in local elections in the country’s most populous state on Sunday, sending a warning to conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s four-month-old national coalition with the Social Democrats, early projections showed.

Initial forecasts from pollster infratest dimap for broadcaster ARD after voting ended for councils, districts and mayors in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia showed support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party had more than tripled to 16.5% from 2020.

Drawing swastikas on ballots is always a serious mistake in Germany…

July 25, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

If only he had used a little more imagination and drawn one of these instead.

He’d be in the clear.

German politician steps down over swastika on ballot – The German state of Baden-Württemberg’s deputy speaker stepped down after admitting he drew a swastika on a ballot beside an AfD lawmaker’s name. Daniel Born said he had made a “serious mistake” during a vote.