Germany megathread

[President Johnson]

The Traffic Light coalition railroaded the electoral reform bill through today. 400 in favor, 261 against, 23 abstentions.


Die Linke and the CSU have pledged to take this to the Federal Constitutional Court, calling it an attack on democracy. I cannot believe I am agreeing with two parties I absolutely disdain but I hope it gets struck down. Such an unnecessarily convoluted law when there are much simpler alternatives.

I have a feeling the court is going to overrule this, though I strongly support the reform. 736 members is just way too much and it's possible after the next election that number further increases. Something had to be done after CDU/CSU showed no actual intention to get something done.

Personally I wouldn't even mind to switch to a more Westminister-like system with 500 districts and a majority vote. If no candidate gets 50%, there's a runoff two weeks later (similar to France).

[President Johnson]

By now I'm a fan of the "enlarge the damn districts" solution, leading to fewer directly elected seats and hence also  fewer overhang and compensation seats. It doesn't even require to change the electoral system itself, but only a specific number within that system. That would make it a relatively safe bet that it passes the courts, unlike the last couple (and probably future) electoral reforms.

Too large districts make it even harder for their respective MPs to be present in all parts of it. I don't think that's a good solution. In fact, I think some districts are already too large.

[President Johnson]

King Charles is currently in Germany for a three-day state visit. He gave a speech at the Bundestag today, partly in German (I wasn't aware he speaks some German) in which he highlighted British-German friendship and impressed even some of his critics.

I must admit that while I'm no fan of manarchies, his speech was pretty strong. Statesman-like, but also somewhat political and not just the usual talk. I think he's doing pretty well in his role so far. It's a pleasure to have him here.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1641433489080737792

[President Johnson]

The Scholz government has introduced its proposal for legalizing cannabis. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir presented the plan to the public. Critics on both sides argue it either doesn't go far enough or too far. Especially CDU/CSU are opposed to the legislation.

https://twitter.com/TheLocalGermany/status/1646114197519110144

From the article:

[...]

- Individual people can carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption without any legal consequences. More than this could be subject to criminal penalties.

- Each individual person can have up to three cannabis plants to cultivate themselves. This marks a change from the original draft, which envisioned allowing three plants per family rather than three plants per person.

- Members of non-profit social clubs will be allowed to buy up to 25 grams of cannabis at a time from the club, and up to a maximum of 50 grams a month. Members will also be able to smoke their own cannabis there. These cannabis social clubs are similar to ones found in Malta and Spain. Non-members will not be able to smoke there.

- The draft law plans a highly government-controlled and regulated supply chain. Controlled sales will happen in licenced shops, most likely on the premises of scientifically-monitored regional projects. It's a bit like having to buy beer directly from a monitored brewer, rather than simply at a corner shop.

- Cannabis purchase, possession, or consumption will remain restricted to people 18 years of age and over. Cannabis consumption also won't be possible near places with a lot of children, such as kitas or schools.

[...]

[President Johnson]

https://twitter.com/ConStelz/status/1649413703631085571?s=20

Of course, I would be shocked to learn anything to the contrary. AfD and parts of Die Linke, especially Wagenknecht and her followers, are useful idiots for the Kremlin.

[President Johnson]

A court in Berlin has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder where he attempted to get his office in the Bundestag (including the encompassing staff) back.

The Bundestag's appropriations committee had terminated Schröder's office in May 2022 as a sanction of sorts against the pro-Putin ex-Chancellor.

Sends a strong signal this was dismissed. I've rarely seen a politican and former head of government that much embarrassing himself after leaving office. Schröder just completely lost it since he retired from elected office. And I'm saying this as someone approving of his chancellorship.

[President Johnson]

Yesterday there was an official reception commemorating "Victory Day" at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

Naturally, most public officials avoided attendence. What's notable is who did attend:

- Gerhard Schröder (Of course!)
- Egon Krenz, final leader of East Germany's communist regime in 1989
- Incumbent AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla and his immediate predecessor Alexander Gauland
- Former Left Party chairman Klaus Ernst

The usual suspects. At this point, I consider them traitors. Gas Gerd is such a disappointment. He should leave the SPD.

[President Johnson]

- Gerhard Schröder (Of course!)
- Egon Krenz, final leader of East Germany's communist regime in 1989
- Incumbent AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla and his immediate predecessor Alexander Gauland
- Former Left Party chairman Klaus Ernst

What a lovely group of people.

It's Schröder and the horseshoe gang. When we send people to the Russian Embassy we always send our best.

This evening's Tagesspiegel editorial arguing that Schröder has become too much of a liability for the country and that, among other things, he needs to be finally expelled from the SPD:

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/meinung/altkanzler-feiert-mit-den-russen-9-mai--der-tag-an-dem-gerhard-schroder-alles-verlor-9798833.html

Well, that was just rejected yesterday. The rules for expelling party members are extremely strict in Germany. CDU and Greens also had issues with certain members.

Schröder should leave the SPD voluntarily though. He has totally gone off the rails in recent years. Apparently the cash Russian oil and gas corportations completely corrupted him.

[President Johnson]

https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Bundestag-geht-ersten-Schritt-zu-laengerer-Legislatur-article24088523.html

Germany could adopt 5-year election terms for the Bundestag instead of 4-year terms

The SPD, CDU, FDP, and Greens all agree in theory that the parliamentary term should be extended.

However, should be noted that this is only a commission recommendation and not an actual legislative proposal.

You would prefer sticking with four years? I actually thought five would be better for a while, though four is enough in my opinion.

[President Johnson]

I've always thought three years would be a decent term length.

Like Australia and New Zealand? I think three years is too short. Imagine a US presidential election every three years, lmao. New York did have three-year gubermatorial terms for some time in the 19th century. They later switched back to two years before four year terms were adopted after the 1938 election.

[President Johnson]

In a scaling down of diplomatic relations, the German government orders Russia to close four of their five consulates in Germany until the end of the year.

At the same time, the German foreign ministry plans to shut its own consulates in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, and Novosibirsk down, leaving only the embassy in Moscow and the consulate in Saint Petersburg.


https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1663874531583225858


https://twitter.com/Jerusalem_Post/status/1663889686765371394

Russia threatens an "appropriate response" (https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/russland-kuendigt-angemessene-reaktion-auf-konsulatsschliessungen-an-a-d41ba823-edd8-45cf-90fa-4539267a4456) whatever the hell that means, considering that Germany is already closing three of its consulates in Russia on its own initiative.

Russia always threatens something against the West, but nothing real ever happens. They're just trying to get people on edge here by evoke German Angst. Nobody should be afraid of their empty, delusional talk.

[President Johnson]

Finally Genosse Olaf gets on fire. He previously did so during another rally last year and forcefully attacked Friedrich Merz in a Bundestag debate a few months back. As much as you can criticize Schröder now or Kohl for his issues, both of them were better in that regard. Scholz more behaves like Merkel most of the time.

[President Johnson]

Tobias Hans, former minister-president of Saarland, has also come out against Friedrich Merz as Chancellor-candidate now.

I'm getting the popcorn.

I was never fully convinced he'd be their candidate to begin with. It would be easy to paint "Mr. Blackrock" as out-of-touch elitist who was a lobbyist for the banking industry. Merz' age might also be a factor in addition to the fact he never held any position in the executive branch.

If I had to guess today, the CDU candidate will either be Hendrick Wüst or Daniel Günther. Two popular state leaders that appeal to the center as Merkel did. Scholz should definitely be worried the most about these two.

Depending on the outcome of the Bavarian election in October, it's also quite possible Söder makes another play should the CSU get over 40%. Even though he denied interest before, Söder isn't exactly known for his consistent opinions.

[President Johnson]

According to a new poll, 73% believe that Olaf Scholz is *not* capable of asserting himself on relevant political issues, 21% believe that he does.

Aside from leadership skills, the same poll also asked about Scholz' communication behavior. 72% say that he gives less less concrete answers than other politicians, 19% think that he doesn't.

https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/olaf-scholz-politbarometer-extra-sommerinterview-bundeskanzler-100.html

Sadly, I mostly agree, although I personally believe Scholz is a pretty skillful politician behind the scenes who's more interested in getting practicable things done rather than grandstanding. However, he should be far more out in public and set a more decisive tone. He's also too cautious on Ukraine in my view. Putin only respects strength.

[President Johnson]

https://twitter.com/Telegraph/status/1690785647634632704


While I think the AFD is horrible, stuff like this is completely horrible and is extremely undemocratic as well. The reason the AFD has risen is Germany has not had an actual right of center party for a while and if the CDU acted like an actual right of center party then the AFD would not be doing anywhere near as well.

I doubt it will ever happen. Party bans are solely decided by the constitutional court (German Supreme Court), which aready threw out two requests to ban the far-right NPD. The only two parties that over got outlawed were in the 1950s, one Nazi Party and the Communist Party.

[President Johnson]

So, foreign minister Annalena Baerbock attempted to visit Australia and New Zealand, but she didn't make it.

She's still healthy and all, but the plane croaked on her in Abi Dhabi. Two attempts to take off again failed, and the state visit had to be scratched entirely. The air force also decomissioned the plane now.

Quite symbolic for the overall state of the government, I guess.

What more can be said about this other than how pathetic that is? Especially since these problems have existed for years. Even Merkel had to deal with similar situations before.

[President Johnson]

Are you ing kidding me?

https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/1691814411890053247

It's disappointing, but just one provision taken out of one particular law. Not that much of a huge deal in practice so far.

[President Johnson]

The federal cabinet has approved draft laws of the new Self-Determination Act regarding gender identity and transgenderism, and the new Citizenship Act to allow dual citizenship

Self Determination Act:

• the existing Transsexual Act of 1980 will be repealed and replaced by the new act
• Simplified gender registration and name change: the adjustment of the gender entry and the first name is done by self-insurance at the registry office. The humiliating "expert procedure" is to be abolished
• Minors and consent: Persons under the age of 14 require parental consent. Between the ages of 14 and 17, either parental consent or, in the event of an objection, the judgment of the family court is required
• Fines for malicious deadnaming: Anyone who intentionally discloses gender or name in order to cause harm can face fines of up to 10,000 euros

The draft laws now goes to the Bundestag for ratification.

All of that wouldn't be possible with the Union still in power. Actually the Ampel has gotten a ton of stuff done despite public perception that it's ineffective. Scholz needs much better messaging. All of that kind of reminds me of Biden.

[President Johnson]

Less than two months ahead of the Bavaria state election, Bavarian vice premier and economy minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) is accused to be the author of an anti-semitic leaflet during his time at school in the 1980s. The story has gained national traction and numerous politicians from across the spectrum expressed strong criticism and demand an investigation. Even AfD officials called it disgraceful, lmao. Minister-President Söder, who actually wants to continue the CSU-Free Voters coalition, called the leaflet sick and a disgrace and said Aiwanger has to address the matter. SPD and Greens demand his resignation or removal from office.

Aiwanger now just came out and denied the claims, saying his brother was the author.

Aiwanger is known for his populism and laughable Twitter rants against the Scholz government and particulary against the Greens. He also called on people to "take their country and democracy back" when the law to reform heating systems was under discussion lately.

One way or the other, I'd be happy to see this clown leaving politics.

https://twitter.com/tagesschau/status/1695477790370386067

https://twitter.com/Jerusalem_Post/status/1695479671742173557

[President Johnson]

The federal cabinet has approved draft laws of the new Self-Determination Act regarding gender identity and transgenderism, and the new Citizenship Act to allow dual citizenship

Self Determination Act:

• the existing Transsexual Act of 1980 will be repealed and replaced by the new act
• Simplified gender registration and name change: the adjustment of the gender entry and the first name is done by self-insurance at the registry office. The humiliating "expert procedure" is to be abolished
• Minors and consent: Persons under the age of 14 require parental consent. Between the ages of 14 and 17, either parental consent or, in the event of an objection, the judgment of the family court is required
• Fines for malicious deadnaming: Anyone who intentionally discloses gender or name in order to cause harm can face fines of up to 10,000 euros

The draft laws now goes to the Bundestag for ratification.

All of that wouldn't be possible with the Union still in power. Actually the Ampel has gotten a ton of stuff done despite public perception that it's ineffective. Scholz needs much better messaging. All of that kind of reminds me of Biden.

Well, the problem just is that (contrary to Biden), practically all of the stuff the Ampel gets done is incredibly unpopular beyond the liberal-left fringe.



https://civey.com/umfragen/33330/wie-bewerten-sie-das-geplante-selbstbestimmungsgesetz-wonach-menschen-ihren-geschlechtseintrag-kunftig-einmal-im-jahr-beim-standesamt-andern-konnen

The minimum wage increase, special fund for the military, repeal of $219a and immigration reform are certainly popular.

[President Johnson]

I'm on vacation and on mobile, so no detailed post, but the federal cabinet has agreed on three new laws: basic child security, industrial electric price cap, and a bureaucracy-reduction law

Pretty much a win for Lindner and the FDP and a loss for the Greens. The Greens and Family Minister Lisa Paus demanded a sum up to twelve billion euros and they ended up just over two million. Most of that sum will be allocated to formally setting up the administration of the basic child security program, which intends to bundle of all transfer services to a single program, going into effect by 2025.

[President Johnson]

Hubert Aiwanger is under fire for allegedly distributing an antisemitic leaflet as a teenager.

An antisemitic pamphlet circulated at a high school in southern Germany 35 years ago is at the center of a political storm affecting election campaigning in Bavaria — and beyond.

Hubert Aiwanger, deputy premier and economy minister of the large and influential southern German state of Bavaria, admitted over the weekend that he was involved in distributing an antisemitic leaflet during his high school years in the late 1980s. Aiwanger now faces growing pressure to answer questions, along with calls for his resignation.

Aiwanger is leader of the right-wing Free Voters party, which is active across Germany but particularly successful in Bavaria, where it’s gained increasing popularity over recent weeks — an effort largely attributed to Aiwanger.


With elections slated for the state on October 8, any prolonged controversy around the politician could affect not only his party’s popularity, but also Bavaria’s Premier Markus Söder of the center-right Christian Social Union (CSU). Söder’s CSU rules in a coalition with Aiwanger’s Free Voters — and many believe Söder aims to become chancellor in Berlin.


German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung first reported last Friday about the pamphlet, which described a fictional competition entitled “Who is the biggest traitor to the Fatherland?” with the first prize as “A free flight through the chimney of Auschwitz” — a macabre reference to the Nazi concentration camp where at least 1 million Jews were murdered during World War II.

Despite Aiwanger categorically denying authorship of text, which he said he considers “disgusting and inhumane,” political uproar over the antisemitic leaflet continues to snowball.

“If the accusations against Hubert Aiwanger are true, Markus Söder must immediately draw consequences and dismiss his deputy,” said Saskia Esken, co-leader of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), which is in the opposition in Bavaria.

Scholz said Monday via a spokesperson that the incident “must be cleared up comprehensively and immediately,” adding that “political consequences” may be necessary.

Aiwanger is probably the most DeSantisian politician Germany has. A regional government official from a conservative state who as a populist rails against a supposedly overreaching federal government, against refugees, and against Covid vaccinations.

Except that Aiwanger used to be an actual Nazi when he was a teenager. In addition to the aforementioned pamphlet new allegations have now surfaced: A former co-student of him has accused Aiwanger of having had the habit of showing the Hitler salute in school. In short, Aiwanger is toast and it is only matter of when, not if.

I wonder whether this could switch votes to the CSU in October, allowing them to regain an absolute majority again. I quite never understood what was unique about the Free Voters in Bavaria when elsewhere it's just a local political force with no actual partisan platform. Meanwhile, in Bavaria it's a right of center political force with populist tendencies, which is similar to the CSU. The only meaningful difference I can think of lately is the CSU being more strict on Covid measures and pro-vaccine (though Söder was the nation's chief flip-flopper on Covid).

If the CSU indeed ends up capitalizing on the expense of Free Voters, it would bolster Söder's position at the federal level as well. He could again make a credible argument to become the Union's chancellor candidate. He's definitely a stronger choice than Mr. Blackrock.

[President Johnson]

Söder refuses to fire Aiwanger and intends to continue a coalition with the Free Voters after the October election. He also ruled out the Greens as potential partner in Bavaria.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1698271428724883493

[President Johnson]

I suppose it's possible that the 0.3% that the Wagenknecht party gets at the next election will take away a seat from AfD.

Polls suggested she would get more than that. Whether that materialzes in the end and whether such a party would be a viable player is another question though. And while disdain Wagenknecht for being a pro-Russia shill, any vote the AfD doesn't get is good.

[President Johnson]

Despite poor messaging, a new study actually concludes the Ampel government has gotton a lot done in the last nearly two years.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1701576396437389620