Tag Archives: SPD

Big Bang Theory

June 8, 2026 By in Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hard Facts, Hideology Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

And practice.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has already ruled out a “big bang” of reforms out of consideration for the SPD and a frightened public. However, the verbal de-escalation ahead of the coalition committee meeting should not obscure the extent of the need for action and, above all, who must take the initiative to help Germany emerge from the economic crisis: the SPD, led by Labor and Social Affairs Minister Bärbel Bas, as well as the labor unions. But it won’t work without the cooperation of CSU leader Markus Söder, who is at times very much a social democrat.

German of the day: Realitätsverweigerung

May 7, 2026 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means denying reality.

A common German problem.

Op-ed on Bärbel Bas: That’s a denial of reality, Minister!

“No foreigners are exploiting our social welfare systems,” claims Labor Minister and SPD Chairwoman Bärbel Bas. Our Labor Minister. The woman who should know the facts and figures better than anyone. I wonder: What country does Ms. Bas live in?

Nearly half of all welfare recipients in Germany are foreigners.

And it couldn’t be happening to a nicer center left…

April 6, 2026 By in Hard Facts, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

To teeter on the edge of oblivion like that, I mean.

Go away already. Please.

Germany’s center left is on the brink of oblivion – If the Social Democracts don’t want to disappear into the fringes, they have to decide, once and for all, what they stand for and who they represent.

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: Sich auflösen

January 15, 2026 By in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , 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.

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.

Ban the AfD!

July 19, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Its political competetors demand.

Gee, I wonder why? German voters seem to be much less concerned.

Poll: Germans largely reject ban on far-right AfD – Germans reject a ban on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) by a majority of 52% to 27% in favour, according to a new representative survey published by the Allensbach Institute polling organization on Saturday.

The proportion opposed to a ban rises to 65% in the east of the country, according to the poll published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily newspaper, while it falls to 49% in the western states. The AfD enjoys widespread support in the formerly communist eastern states.

“Speak loudly and carry a little stick…”

July 14, 2025 By in Home Cooking, Hard Facts, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“You will go far.” Not.

Germany urges tough EU response if ‘fair deal’ cannot be reached on US tariffs – Europe’s biggest economy on Sunday urged a tough EU response if the bloc is unable to strike a “fair deal” with the United States over trade tariffs. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump threatened to slap the European Union with 30 percent tariffs. “We won’t accept just anything,” Lars Klingbeil, finance minister of Europe’s biggest economy, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Thought Crime and Punishment

April 22, 2025 By in Habitudes, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hard Facts, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Watch your step in Germany.

The British news magazine “Economist”, which is read by decision-makers worldwide, sounds the alarm: in Germany, freedom of opinion is increasingly under threat – from laws, court judgments and a way of dealing with criticism that raises questions in a liberal democracy.

The report focuses on the case of journalist David Bendels. The editor-in-chief of the right-wing populist “Deutschland-Kurier” had published a manipulated photo of Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser holding a sign saying “I hate freedom of expression.” The Economist notes: “Such images are commonplace on social media.” However, Faeser filed a criminal complaint – and a court sentenced Bendels to a seven-month suspended sentence, a heavy fine and an apology.