Germany megathread

[MaxQue]

Did the SDP ever banned Schroder from party membership and will they ever do?

[MaxQue]

I was reading an article from the Guardian about splits in Die Linke, and wanted to ask -
(https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/19/germanys-die-linke-on-verge-of-split-over-sanctions-on-russia)

Does this pose the kind of existential threat to the party that it looks like on the surface (to this outsider at least) and inferred by the article? Or will they limp on?

The big problem is that they barely got into the Bundestag last time, so any problem can become quite threathing.

[MaxQue]

^^ Actually, according to some German news articles I had read on the issue these past months, if there is one person within the government that has been instrumental in shaping Scholz' more reluctant Russia doctrine then it is his traditionally pro-Russian foreign policy advisor in the Chancellery, Jens Plötner.

FDP and Greens are being so weak. They should require his dismissal.

[MaxQue]

Scholz approves the sale of almost 25% in the Port of Hamburg and also is planning to approve the sale of a German microchip manufacturer to the Swedish subsidiary of a Chinese company.

This is, again, despite the advice of the Bundesverfassungsschutz and many, many others, including those in his own party.

Genuinely at a loss...

I'm really mad at Scholz over this. And if not for other SPD members, the Greens and FDP, it would have been worse. It's not only extremely dangerous and sends a terrible signal, it also hurts our alliances in the Western world. Nobody really gets this how you can be this stubborn and - quite frankly - stupid. Especially after Nordstream 2.

The CDU, however, is the wrong party to criticize this after Merkel approved Nordstream 2 in the first place and was utterly delusional about Putin (as was the SPD, and parts still are). And then you wonder why government's approval rating is in the tank and the sh**bags better known as AfD are on the rise...

Is there is any possibility that the SPD get rid of him or can the FDP/Greens force him out?

[MaxQue]

• 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

How are they defining ‘harm’? My gut reaction is that sounds a bit worrying for freedom of speech.

Harassment isn't freedom of speech, despite what the UK media would like you to believe.[/list]

[MaxQue]

SPD and Greens won't cut social programs, FDP won't raise taxes, so we're gonna up with the one measure everyone can agree upon and that has been used before during COVID/Ukraine: suspend the debt ceiling.

The only way to get around the Union (as it requires a two thirds majority) is declaring another state of emergency for 2023 and potentially 2024. Former could be vulnerable in court again according to some scholars, because it hasn't been declared so far and the year is almost over.

What the government should do is examine all subventions, including several harmful to the environment. The treasury could easily cut out several billions here.

Any reason why the Court is obviously veering into policymaking? Packed with CDU cronies?

[MaxQue]

Wasn’t there some internal FDP petition that got enough signatures  to  trigger a party member vote on whether there should be new federal elections or FDP should pull out of the coalition?

Yeah, that vote was held and the results have been announced today.

52.2% voted in favour of staying in the coalition. Thus a 2024 Bundestag (early) election has been narrowly averted, so far.

Actually a pathetic result, if we're being honest. However, it was a non-binding vote and I doubt Lindner would have pulled out in a reverse scenario. At least unless the result would have been 75-25% or so.

The coalition really needs a massive turnaround this year, otherwise things are looking bleak in the years to come. Especially the Eastern Landtag elections in September with AfD leading in the polls are going to be a real test.

I'm sorry to tell you it won't happen, as the FDP is blocking any genuine reform.

[MaxQue]

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has compared the far-right plan to deport migrants to Nazi racial ideology, calling it "an attack on our democracy."

Quite interesting coming from the man who expressed a desire for the exact same thing in Der Spiegel on October 20th, 2023, in an article titled "We Have to Deport People More Often and Faster".

Surely you're smart enough to see the difference between deporting criminals and deporting citizens?

[MaxQue]

Last week, in reaction to the new cannabis law, the CDU/CSU state governments took out their frustration and blocked the Online Access Act 2.0 ("OZG") in the Bundesrat, which was passed by the Bundestag back in February.

Since the opposing prime ministers did not even attempt to explain their decision to block the law, we can only assume that there are no factual objections to the OZG, and the Union parties are primarily doing this as a way of frustrating the Scholz government. Benefits for Germany be damned.

In the previous weeks, the Ministry of the Interior attempted to reach a compromise by making major concessions to the states, but received unconstructive resistance anyways. The law is not dead, but instead now is forced into a mediation committee, which will delay the law's implementation by weeks, if not months. In the meantime, German citizens and companies will continue to suffer from Germany's public administration being permanently stuck in 2005 and the lack of administrative services online, long queues in the Citizen's Registration Office, and all the economic costs that go along with it.

Another great example of how the CDU does nothing except sit on top of this country and hold it back👍

And how the SPD and the Greens enables them to do so, by entering state level coalitions with them. This is 100% self-inflicted.