Germany megathread

[President Johnson]

Major loss for AfD in court today.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1789975878450942111

Aaaand ... another defeat. Höcke fined 13k Euros for using a Nazi slogan. He claimed that he didn't know about that.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1790433385720033511

[President Johnson]

More bad news for AfD: The Bundestag has revoked immunity of two AfD members:

- Hannes Gnauck's immunity was rescinded due to a disciplinary investigation during his time in the Bundeswehr, where he is accused of inciting against asylum seekers and foreigners. The Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) classified him as a "suspected case of right-wing extremism" in 2020. Gnauck, who is also the national chairman of the "Young Alternative", had a uniform and service ban imposed on him by the Bundeswehr. The disciplinary proceedings had been suspended since he entered the Bundestag in 2021. Gnauck suspects a connection to the upcoming EU election and believes the timing of the immunity lifting is questionable.

- The General Prosecutor's Office in Munich has initiated investigations into AfD Bundestag member Petr Bystron for suspected bribery and money laundering, conducting searches at multiple locations including Bystron's office in Berlin, properties in Mallorca, and in various districts in Bavaria. Bystron's immunity was lifted by the Bundestag prior to the searches. There are allegations that Bystron received money as part of a Russian influence operation, with hints of a cash exchange in a car. Bystron denies the accusations, while the AfD leadership is hoping for swift resolution to the situation. Additionally, there are allegations against another AfD candidate, Maximilian Krah, and his longtime employee Jian G., who was arrested for alleged espionage for China. The investigations are ongoing, with no concrete evidence presented yet for the claims against Bystron.

[President Johnson]

It's good to see SPD ahead of AfD once again:

https://x.com/Wahlen_DE/status/1793958220618145912

Still not good enough, and depressing that a third would vote for the party that's mainly responsible for Germany's problems today. But midterm polling in Germany - both at the federal and state level - is more useless than current US presidential polling. There has always been a strong shift towards in the incumbent in the final weeks of a campaign. Schröder also trailed for the most part of his term, even by twenty percent and more and still pulled it off in 2002 and came pretty damn close in 2005.

[President Johnson]

It's good to see SPD ahead of AfD once again:

https://x.com/Wahlen_DE/status/1793958220618145912

Still not good enough, and depressing that a third would vote for the party that's mainly responsible for Germany's problems today. But midterm polling in Germany - both at the federal and state level - is more useless than current US presidential polling. There has always been a strong shift towards in the incumbent in the final weeks of a campaign. Schröder also trailed for the most part of his term, even by twenty percent and more and still pulled it off in 2002 and came pretty damn close in 2005.

Are you writing this again and again because you really believe Scholz can do this or simply because you have to be optimistic as an SPD member??

Nobody thought Scholz had a shot in the spring of 2021. And next time he's running as an incumbent, most likely against Merz, who's not the strongest candidate. I definitely believe that he can win reelection. Whether he will is a different question. Way too early for predictions.