German of the day: Sich auflösen

January 15, 2026 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: Allies, Europe, German, Germany, Language, Lars Klingbeil, Social Democracy, Social Democrats, SPD, USA Leave a comment

That means to disintegrate.

Klingbeil: Transatlantic relations are currently disintegrating – Federal Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Klingbeil has described relations with the US as severely damaged.

At an event held by the German Institute for Economic Research, the SPD leader said that transatlantic relations as we know them are currently disintegrating. Klingbeil referred to the US military intervention against Venezuela, the conflict over Greenland, and the US government’s new national security strategy. The Trump administration is making it clear that it wants to dominate the Western Hemisphere and is increasingly turning away from Europe politically and culturally, Klingbeil said.

German of the day: Völkerrecht

January 11, 2026 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: German, Germany, International Law, Language, Lars Klingbeil, Social Democrats, SPD, USA, Venezuela Leave a comment

That means international law.

And international law, as one German commentator so aptly noted, “is the knife-free zone of geopolitics.”

International law applies to everyone, including U.S., says German finance minister (and vice-chancellor).

German of the day: Vertrauensfrage

December 16, 2024 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: Germany, Olaf Scholz, Social Democrats, Socialists, SPD Leave a comment

That means vote of confidence. Which of course means vote of lack of confidence in this case.

Who says Olaf and the SPD can’t bring in the votes?

Germany’s Scholz expected to lose confidence vote, triggering early election – Polls suggest that a February election would result in a rightward shift, at a moment when Europe’s largest economy is faltering.

Country With Army That Uses Broomsticks For Guns Calls For Military Autonomy

October 16, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: Armies, Defense, EU, German, Germans, Germany, Military, Olaf Scholz, Social Democrats, Socialists, SPD Leave a comment

They’ll be using their own, domestically produced broomsticks for training in the future, I guess.

German Chancellor Calls for EU Reforms, Military Autonomy – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Saturday called for reforms of the European Union to make it fit for the admission of new countries as well as more military autonomy of the 27-country bloc.

Speaking at the Congress of the Party of European Socialists in Berlin, Scholz advocated for gradually abolishing the principle of unanimity for decisions in foreign policy, but also in other areas such as tax policy…

Scholz also supports more military autonomy of the EU. He called for coordinated procurement of weapons and equipment, the establishment of an EU rapid reaction force by 2025, and for an EU headquarters for European armed forces.

Just Like I Got Everything Else Wrong

April 5, 2022 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: Dependency, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German, Germans, Germany, Nord Stream 2, Putin, Russia, Social Democrats, SPD, Ukraine Leave a comment

Ever. But who cares? I’m just the President of Germany.

I got Putin wrong, says chastened German President – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, long an advocate of Western rapprochement with Russia, expressed regret for his earlier stance, saying his years of support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been a clear mistake.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who served as Foreign Minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel before being elevated to the presidency, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant he and others had to reckon honestly with what they had got wrong.

German Of The Day: Sozi

December 9, 2021 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: German, Germans, Germany, Government Waste, Language, Olaf Scholz, Social Democrats, Socialism, SPD, Spending Leave a comment

That’s short for Social Democrat. And that’s short for Socialist. And that’s short for the big spending of other people’s money. Or “redistribuiton,” if you prefer.

Olaf Scholz is a Sozi.

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz elected as German chancellor – German lawmakers elected Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as new chancellor on Wednesday, ending 16 years of conservative rule under Angela Merkel and paving the way for a pro-European coalition government which has vowed to boost green investment.

Real Bourgeois Socialists Overtake Fake Bourgeois Socialists

August 25, 2021 By Hermann Observer in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: CDU, Elections, German, Germans, Germany, Language, Polls, Social Democrats, Socialism, SPD, Surveys Leave a comment

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.

This Could Never Have Happened To Us

February 28, 2020 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hostility, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Adolf Hitler, Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Greens, History, Honorary Citizenship, Hypocrisy, Leftists, Liberals, Paul von Hindenburg, Social Democrats, Socialists, SPD 1 Comment

As reported earlier…

The enlightened left (in this case Berlin’s “red-redder-green” city government) are routinely shocked to discover that historical figures fail to meet their current level of enlightened leftist consciousness and so must scorn their memory with puritanical outbursts of intoxicating guilt and self-righteous moral outrage.

This could have never happened to them, in other words. They’ve got Stalinists in their own government right now but it could never happen to them.

Berlin strips Hitler kingmaker Paul von Hindenburg of honorary citizenship – Berlin city-state has rescinded honorary citizenship for Paul von Hindenburg. In 1933, the German Weimar-era general-turned president named Adolf Hitler as chancellor, giving him powers for his 12-year Nazi dictatorship.

The Rents Won’t Be the Only Things That Will Freeze

December 10, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Building, Construction, German, Germans, Germany, Greens, Housing, Left Party, Redistribution, Regulation, Rent Control, Rent Freeze, Rents, Social Democrats, Socialism, SPD Leave a comment

Building will come to a complete standstill in Berlin too.

But Berlin’s red-redder-green politicians (SPD, the Left Party, the Greens) don’t know anything about building (look at the state the city of Berlin is in). They can only tear things down. Oh, yes. And redistribute. They will redistribute for as long as it takes to get anybody who’s got anything to get out of town.

Berlin Builders Hit the Streets in Backlash Over Rent Freeze – The German capital’s government is trying to ease the burden on tenants after a property boom caused rents to double over the past decade. However, critics of the plan — including economists and large landlords — have said the only way to address growing demand for housing is to build more homes.

The rent-freeze legislation will start its passage through Berlin’s parliament this week and is expected to come into force in the first quarter of next year…

The city’s plans “threaten to cause considerable damage to both the housing market and Berlin as a whole,” IW institute economists wrote in a recent report for the Christian Democratic Union party, which is in opposition in Berlin and opposes the measures. Scrapping the plan is “urgently needed from an economic perspective to prevent wider damage to the Berlin economy,” they added.

Dull And Duller

December 3, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Humility, Humor, Hurt Feelings Tags: Berlin, Coaltions, Elections, German, Germans, Germany, Grand Coalition, Political Parties, Politicians, Social Democracy, Social Democrats, SPD Leave a comment

Or: Non-Party Elects Nonentities To Non-Lead Them.

Does anybody out there remember the uncola? Doesn’t matter. I’m sure you get the idea. Germany’s SPD (Social Democratic Party) has just made the leap to unparty status. Or non-party, if you prefer. I do. Nobody can figure this out. These two came out of nowhere because that’s where they belong. How can I put it? They are sheep in sheep’s clothing. Dull? These two are so dull that either one of them, on his or her own, could make the perfect chairman of the bored. But two of them together? Like, at the same time? It’s just too much to take.

Two strong leftist critics of the coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives – Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken – won a vote for leadership of the Social Democrats on Saturday, possibly putting the country, Europe’s largest economy, at a political crossroads.

Their ascendancy raises the chances of an early election or a minority government if the SPD leaves the coalition, which could trigger political instability at a time when the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the country’s third-largest party.

“I think it is good that the SPD has made a decision.” Loud yawn. “It paves the way to return to business. For the CDU it is quite clear: we stand by this coalition. We stand by this coalition on the basis that has been negotiated.”