Tag Archives: Elections

200,000 protesters!

February 9, 2025 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Is that a lot?

Doesn’t that reflect German majority opinion? Well… No, it doesn’t. Not when the polls all indicate the opposite.

At least 200,000 protesters rally in Munich against far-right AfD ahead of German election – More than 200,000 protesters rallied in Munich, Germany, on Saturday against far-right extremism ahead of the country’s general election.

The far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is in second place in recent polls and has prompted widespread protests across the country before voters cast their ballots on Feb. 23…

FDP deputy leader Kubicki rejects the idea that “firewall” demonstrations reflect majority opinion: Otherwise the red-green party would have made huge gains in the polls.

“Startlingly aggressive?”

February 3, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’d say it’s more like “refreshingly different.”

Merz doubles down on gambit with German far right in combative speech – Prospective chancellor takes startlingly aggressive line against those protesting against gamble with AfD.

The German conservative opposition leader, Friedrich Merz, whose party is widely tipped to win this month’s general election, defended his hardline migration proposals after a wave of protests accused him of breaching the time-honoured “firewall” between the far right and centrists.

In an uncompromising speech to a party congress of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin, Merz said he was confident they would win the 23 February vote “with a very good result”, well ahead of the anti-immigration, anti-Islam Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which has been consistently placing second in the polls.

Five days after passing a non-binding resolution on border policy with the votes of the far right – marking a historic breach of a taboo – Merz renewed a promise to bar any formal cooperation with the AfD in future.

“We will not work with the Alternative für Deutschland – not before [the election], not after – never,” he said to a lengthy standing ovation from delegates.

German of the day: Abweichler

January 31, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means dissenters.

As in dissenters within your own party. In this case, Germany’s CDU.

Germany’s parliament rejects radical migration plan – Greens and SPD earlier refused to support the Influx Limitation Act amid fierce criticism from Merkel over Merz’s cooperation with AfD…

The highly-controversial proposal, put forward by the CDU/CSU opposition party which leads in the polls, failed to secure a majority in the Bundestag, despite the backing of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.

Germany’s Green economy rocks

January 30, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

It pitches, reels and staggers too.

Talk about having a gross domestic product.

Germany slashes growth outlook in ‘serious’ diagnosis of Europe’s largest economy – The German government on Wednesday slashed its gross domestic product forecast to just 0.3% growth in 2025.

This is down from a previous forecast of 1.1% growth, but broadly in line with estimates from bodies like the International Monetary Fund.

“The diagnosis is serious,” Robert Habeck, Germany’s Economy and Climate Minister, said during a press conference.

Elon is one smart cookie…

January 28, 2025 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, History, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

But this wasn’t exaclty rocket science.

Musk Says Germany Has ‘Too Much of a Focus on Past Guilt’ – His comments to the hard-right Alternative for Germany party escalated efforts by the billionaire to influence the country’s election for chancellor next month.

‘Too Much of a Focus on Past Guilt’ is one hell of an understatement. Guilt is an all-consuming obsession here.

German of the day: Mehrheit

January 27, 2025 By in Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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

January 24, 2025 By in Helections, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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.

Nothing will change

January 23, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

The Germans will continue to vote as have; way too Green and way too Red.

And the next coalition government will be just as ineffective as the last one. For whatever mysterious reason, this is what the German electorate wants.

Germany’s likely next chancellor demands migration crackdown after knife attack – Germany’s main opposition leader demanded a sweeping overhaul of migration policy and permanent border controls on Thursday, a day after an Afghan asylum seeker was arrested for a deadly knife attack targeting children weeks before federal elections.

Friedrich Merz, who is likely to become chancellor after the Feb. 23 vote, said the attack, which killed a two-year-old boy and an adult passerby, could not become the new normal, saying all “illegal immigrants” should be turned away at the border.

The climate really is changing…

January 15, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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.”