Germany megathread

[NewYorkExpress]

https://in.reuters.com/article/us-germany-military-farright/germany-replaces-military-intelligence-boss-after-far-right-scandals-idUSKCN26F2ZJ

Germany’s defence minister will replace the head of the military intelligence agency (MAD), her ministry said on Thursday, a move indicating she wants to do more to root out right-wing radicals from the armed forces.

MAD chief Christof Gramm had begun reforms to combat right-wing extremism in the military and achieved noticeable improvements, the ministry said in a statement, adding, however, that further progress was needed and this required more effort.

“This new phase should also be made visible in terms of personnel,” the statement said.




By mutual consent, Gramm is to be relieved of his duties next month, and will take early retirement, the defence ministry said, adding that a successor would be chosen soon.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/berlin-tourism-ad-woman-middle-finger-pulled

It certainly gets the point across, does it not?


A recent series of advertisements launched by the city of Berlin’s tourism department has ruffled a few feathers — and critics are pointing the finger at one ad, in particular.



"The raised index finger for all those without a mask,” reads the ad, which also features an image of a woman brandishing her middle finger. “We obey the corona rules.”

In response, Visit Berlin has reportedly pulled the ad from its larger “Berlin Gegen Corona” (“Berlin Against Corona”) campaign currently appearing across the city.



Visit Berlin, the official tourism website of Germany's capital city, had released the campaign in September along with a series of public service announcements aimed at encouraging tourists and locals to wear masks amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The campaign’s message, which has also been approved by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, also specifically targeted restaurateurs and bar owners, who are currently subject to a number of coronavirus regulations regarding capacity, spacing and hours of operation.

[Astatine]

RIP Thomas Oppermann (1954-2020), former Parliamentary Leader of the Social Democratic Party and Deputy Speaker of the Bundestag.

He served in Lower Saxony as Landtag deputy from 1990 on, became secretary of science later and was elected to the Bundestag in 2005. From 2007 until 2013 he was Whip of the Social Democratic parliamentary caucus and became its leader subsequently, a position which he held until he was elected Deputy Speaker of the Bundestag in 2017. He just recently announced that this would be his last term in Parliament. Yesterday, he collapsed just shortly before a scheduled TV interview and died shortly after, leaving his wife and four children.

Oppermann was a very charismatic, pragmatic, respected and intelligent politician, who will be sorely missed.

[President Johnson]

Nine years late, with billions for taxpayers in additional cost, Berlin Airport BER has finally opened. The opening was delayed numerous times since 2011, after more and more construction defects surfaced over time. They were even running ghost trains to prevent rails from falling into disrepair. The entire project made us a laughingstock around the world and gave comedians tons of jokes.

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1322497041851928577

[NewYorkExpress]

https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/525854-eleven-german-men-charged-with-far-right-plot-to-attack-muslims

Prosecutors on Friday charged 11 German men from a far-right terror group with planning deadly attacks on Muslims and plotting to overthrow the German government.

According to The Associated Press, federal prosecutors alleged that eight of the men formed the “Group S” organization during a meeting in September 2019.

Three others are accused of joining the group later. A 12th person was also charged with supporting the group.


Prosecutors also reportedly charged seven of the suspects with weapons violations in Stuttgart state court.

The AP reported that the suspects, who were listed without last names due to German privacy laws, wanted to “shake the state and the social order” in Germany and eventually create “conditions similar to civil war” by attacking mosques and killing or injuring as many Muslims as possible.

The group also allegedly hoped to lead a government coup, as well as use force against political opponents.

[crals]

The Bundestag's Committee on Health has today rejected a proposal to legalize cannabis (sponsored by the GRÜNEN) with CDU/CSU, SPD and AfD all voting against and FDP abstaining. LINKE in favor.

Might further weaken the SPD's position with young and urban voters. I heard #NiemehrSPD (#NeverAgainSPD) was trending on Twitter after the vote...

Pretty sure that the GRÜNEN will demand full legalization (among many other things) after the 2021 elections. And the CDU/CSU, being the CDU/CSU, will eventually agree for tactical reasons.

What was SPD's reasoning to vote against?

[CumbrianLefty]

https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/525854-eleven-german-men-charged-with-far-right-plot-to-attack-muslims

Prosecutors on Friday charged 11 German men from a far-right terror group with planning deadly attacks on Muslims and plotting to overthrow the German government.

According to The Associated Press, federal prosecutors alleged that eight of the men formed the “Group S” organization during a meeting in September 2019.

Three others are accused of joining the group later. A 12th person was also charged with supporting the group.


Prosecutors also reportedly charged seven of the suspects with weapons violations in Stuttgart state court.

The AP reported that the suspects, who were listed without last names due to German privacy laws, wanted to “shake the state and the social order” in Germany and eventually create “conditions similar to civil war” by attacking mosques and killing or injuring as many Muslims as possible.

The group also allegedly hoped to lead a government coup, as well as use force against political opponents.

Be in no doubt, the far right is a genuine threat.

[NewYorkExpress]

Germany will now require companies with at least three members of a Board of Directors, to appoint a woman to the board.

Germany's coalition government has agreed to a mandatory quota for women on the boards of listed companies in what's being hailed as a landmark moment for Europe's biggest economy.

Listed companies with management boards of more than three executives must appoint at least one woman to the C-suite, according to a statement Friday by Germany's ministry for family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth. A final decision on the new measure is expected next week.

"We are putting an end to women-free boardrooms at large companies," said Franziska Giffey, the minister for women and families, who described the decision as a "historic breakthrough."

[NewYorkExpress]

Heiko Maas calls out anti-mask protesters who comapre themselves to victims of the Nazis.

German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, on Sunday lashed out at anti-mask protesters comparing themselves to Nazi victims, accusing them of trivialising the Holocaust and “making a mockery” of the courage shown by resistance fighters.

The harsh words came after a young woman took to the stage at a protest against coronavirus restrictions in Hanover on Saturday saying she felt “just like Sophie Scholl”, the German student executed by the Nazis in 1943 for her role in the resistance.

A video of the speech has already been viewed more than 1m times on social media, with many sharply condemning the speaker.

 German anti-mask protester compares herself to Sophie Scholl during speech – video
“Anyone today comparing themselves to Sophie Scholl or Anne Frank is making a mockery of the courage it took to stand up to the Nazis,” Maas tweeted.

[President Johnson]

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1333763657390567431

[Silent Hunter]

Four dead. Driver has been arrested and police are suspecting he was drunk at the wheel, no political motive.

Rest in Peace.

[President Johnson]

Four dead. Driver has been arrested and police are suspecting he was drunk at the wheel, no political motive.

Rest in Peace.

Five deaths now. One is a nine month old baby. Rest in peace Hopefully the injured will fully recover.

The driver was an 51 year old German, and as you pointed out, there is no political motive. Not that it matters for those who lost their lives or got seriously injured.

[NewYorkExpress]

Germany is stripping words linked to the Nazis from their phonetic alphabet

Germany is restoring Jewish names that Nazis stripped from its phonetic alphabet more than 75 years ago.

Adolf Hitler changed the alphabet in 1934, a year after he ascended to power — subbing, for example, Dora for the letter D instead of David and Nordpol (North Pole) for the letter N instead of Nathan, the German wesbsite DW reported.

Only a handful of countries have their own version; most rely on the well-known NATO version — “a is for alpha,” “b is for bravo” and so on.

[CumbrianLefty]

De-nazification a mere 75 years after the event?

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

https://twitter.com/DeutscheWelle/status/1335877843230846976

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Chancellor Willy Brandt's Kniefall ("Genuflection") in front of the Ghetto Heroes Monument in Warsaw on the same day as the Treaty of Warsaw was singed, in which the Oder-Neiße-line was acknowledged as the final border between Germany and Poland. His Ostpolitik and particularity that gesture are thought to be the reason why Brandt was bestowed the honor of the Nobel Peace Prize upon one year later.

As well-received as that gesture may have been internationally, his symbolic move polarized German society and political establishment: According to a SPIEGEL survey of the time, 48% of all West Germans thought the Kniefall was excessive, 41% said it was appropriate and 11% had no opinion. Many political commentators and pundits considered the genuflection to be too "servile". On several anti-Ostpolitik rallies, Brandt was stigmatized as a people's traitor, and some protesters even demanded that he be imposed the death penalty on for treason against the people
Despite half of the Germans being highly critical of Brandt's Ostpolitik, the other half of society highly praised him for his move towards rapprochement. In the 1972 federal elections, the SPD became the largest party of the Bundestag for the first time and moreover received his highest share of votes ever (45.8%), thus leading to a reelection of the red-yellow government.

A monument to Willy Brandt was unveiled on December 6, 2000, in Willy Brandt Square in Warsaw (near the Warsaw Ghetto Heroes Monument) on the eve of the 30th anniversary of his famous gesture.

[CumbrianLefty]

Bet there was a fair sized age gap in that 1970s polling.

[NewYorkExpress]

Austrian police have seized guns destined for the far-right in Germany.

The Austrian police have seized a huge cache of automatic weapons, explosives and hand grenades intended to arm far-right “extremist” groups in Germany.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said on Saturday five men aged 21 to 53 with links to neo-Nazi groups were arrested following a series of house searches.

“We have struck a massive blow against the right-wing extremist scene in Austria and organised crime, and how they are connected,” Nehammer told a news conference in the capital, Vienna.

The weapons were to be used to “establish a far-right network” in Germany with the goal of attacking society, democracy and basic freedoms, Nehammer said.

The raids were carried out as part of an investigation initially into a drug-related crime, but officers also uncovered links between far-right groups and organised crime, the minister said.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Bit of a random question but what legislative accomplishments were there during Schröder's first term? I cannot find much information even if I search in German.

Most articles focus Schröder's reaction to externally-driven events such as Kosovo, Iraq, and the 2002 floods.

Basically all the legislative initiatives that I managed to find seem to be really basic and underwhelming stuff such as a minor tax reform in 2000, a slight loosening of criteria for citizenship and naturalization, same-sex civil unions, and agreeing to phase out nuclear power.

Is that really it? Is that really all that was accomplished legislatively? Was the infighting over the agenda really so bad to cause this level of gridlock for his first four years?

And was Iraq and the floods really enough to save the SPD in 2002, or were there other underlying factors and strengths of the SPD? I would assume that voters would just be so sick of the Red-Greens that they'd go with Stoiber anyways.

[CumbrianLefty]

Schroeder managed a significant turnaround in popularity come 2001-02.

Exactly why is, as you say, not quite as clear.

[republicanbayer]

Bit of a random question but what legislative accomplishments were there during Schröder's first term? I cannot find much information even if I search in German.

Most articles focus Schröder's reaction to externally-driven events such as Kosovo, Iraq, and the 2002 floods.

Basically all the legislative initiatives that I managed to find seem to be really basic and underwhelming stuff such as a minor tax reform in 2000, a slight loosening of criteria for citizenship and naturalization, same-sex civil unions, and agreeing to phase out nuclear power.

Is that really it? Is that really all that was accomplished legislatively? Was the infighting over the agenda really so bad to cause this level of gridlock for his first four years?

And was Iraq and the floods really enough to save the SPD in 2002, or were there other underlying factors and strengths of the SPD? I would assume that voters would just be so sick of the Red-Greens that they'd go with Stoiber anyways.

You’re right, it’s hard to find a comprehensive list of accomplishments of Schröder (or any other German chancellor). In addition to what you have already mentioned, I could think of the following:
Winning an internal struggle for power when SPD party leader and Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine quit. Unlike the moderate Schröder, Lafontaine was part of the SPD’s left-wing. Today he’s a state politician for Die Linke.

•   Winning an internal struggle for power when SPD party leader and Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine quit. Unlike the moderate Schröder, Lafontaine was part of the SPD’s left-wing. Today he’s a state politician for Die Linke.
•   I wouldn’t call the tax reform of 2000 minor. In fact, it lowered the lowest tax bracket from 25.9% to 15% and the highest marginal tax rate from 53% to 42% while increasing tax allowances and cut taxes for corporations from 40%/30% to 25%.
•   A tax on electricity was passed in 1999.
•   Red-Green passed a massive social security reform called the Altersvermögensgesetz, which – facing an aging population – hoped to stabilize our retirement system through limits on future public social security spending and by encouraging private capital-based retirement insurance (e.g. Riester-Rente, which is modelled after 401(k), but doesn’t work half as well).
•   The government managed a swift transition from the D-Mark to the Euro.
•   They significantly expanded the system of deposit bottles.
•   They passed the Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz (EEG), guaranteeing fixed prices for everyone producing renewable energy (up to 50ct per kWh), which sparked private investment in renewable energies and made Germany the world leader in solar polar. In fact, the EEG might have been the biggest boost for solar power ever and the reason why it has become so cheap over the last two decades. On the other hand, the EEG has significantly increased the cost for electricity in Germany with customers now paying more than 30ct per kWh.

The Iraq War and the floods of 2002 were certainly the most significant reasons for Schröder’s reelection; the donation scandal of the CDU and Stoiber being a rather weak candidate certainly helped as well.

In addition to the accomplishments during his second term, Schröder has quite an impressive legacy. If not for his extremely stupid decision to call for snap elections in 2005, he might very well have won a third term, governing until 2010. Overall, I consider him the most underrated chancellor in German history.

[CumbrianLefty]

I always thought he was meant to be absolutely stuffed in 2005, and only just losing that election was actually one of his most impressive achievements.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Schroeder managed a significant turnaround in popularity come 2001-02.

Exactly why is, as you say, not quite as clear.

I do see that unemployment began to fall quite rapidly from late-1999 to mid-2001 (from above 9% to about 7.5%), which can probably explain the sentiment that things were turning the corner and his policies were working, but from late summer 2001 it began to rocket back upwards due to the early-2000s recession and in late-2002 was even worse than it was in late-1998 (9.5% vs. 9%), and that was a major weakness of the SPD-Greens campaign in 2002.

I also know that Schröder himself was personally very popular and seen as an "everyman" and "strong, decisive leader". But still, I'm surprised that they didn't lose 2002 even given the floods and Iraq. But perhaps I'm seriously underestimating the intense opposition to the Iraq War, which would make sense given Germany's history and that many elderly voters still remembered....everything that happend back then, and were still around to vote.

Perhaps there was also a "he's only had 4 years, he needs more time" kind of mentality after 16 years of CDU-FDP, just like people were forgiving of Obama in 2012 and were turned off by Stoiber the same way Americans were turned off by Romney. Idk.

*snip*

•   I wouldn’t call the tax reform of 2000 minor. In fact, it lowered the lowest tax bracket from 25.9% to 15% and the highest marginal tax rate from 53% to 42% while increasing tax allowances and cut taxes for corporations from 40%/30% to 25%.
•   A tax on electricity was passed in 1999.
•   Red-Green passed a massive social security reform called the Altersvermögensgesetz, which – facing an aging population – hoped to stabilize our retirement system through limits on future public social security spending and by encouraging private capital-based retirement insurance (e.g. Riester-Rente, which is modelled after 401(k), but doesn’t work half as well).
•   The government managed a swift transition from the D-Mark to the Euro.
•   They significantly expanded the system of deposit bottles.
•   They passed the Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz (EEG), guaranteeing fixed prices for everyone producing renewable energy (up to 50ct per kWh), which sparked private investment in renewable energies and made Germany the world leader in solar polar. In fact, the EEG might have been the biggest boost for solar power ever and the reason why it has become so cheap over the last two decades. On the other hand, the EEG has significantly increased the cost for electricity in Germany with customers now paying more than 30ct per kWh.

The Iraq War and the floods of 2002 were certainly the most significant reasons for Schröder’s reelection; the donation scandal of the CDU and Stoiber being a rather weak candidate certainly helped as well.

In addition to the accomplishments during his second term, Schröder has quite an impressive legacy. If not for his extremely stupid decision to call for snap elections in 2005, he might very well have won a third term, governing until 2010. Overall, I consider him the most underrated chancellor in German history.

Hmm, interesting, thank you for sharing. And you're right, in late-2005 unemployment was at 11% but by late-2006 it had fallen rapidly for one year and was approaching 9% very quickly. Perhaps he could have hung on for a third term if he had just waited.

[republicanbayer]

I always thought he was meant to be absolutely stuffed in 2005, and only just losing that election was actually one of his most impressive achievements.

Right, Social Democrats were down 20% in June and eventually lost by 1% in September. The big mistake was to call snap elections in the first place. In 2006, the economy was improving rapidly thanks to Schröder's agenda reforms and the FIFA World Cup had caused some unprecedented patriotism and optimism, creating a favorable environment for an incumbent.

[CumbrianLefty]

Didn't the CDU get themselves into a real mess over "flat taxes" during that campaign?

[republicanbayer]

Didn't the CDU get themselves into a real mess over "flat taxes" during that campaign?

Yes, Merkel's shadow finance minister Paul Kirchhof had started a debate on flat taxes, but it didn't make it into the official campaign platform. Generally, the CDU was very conservative in the early 2000s.