#CDU Brandenburg

[unfug-bilder]

Zur demokratischen Verfaßtheit der CDU-Landtagsabgeordneten (m/w)* in Brandenburg hatte ich mich ja schon mehrfach geäußert. Zur Glaubwürdigkeit des Herrn Bommert im Besonderen bisher nur einmal. Den Rest erledigt jetzt der RBB.

(*) Andere gibt´s nicht

[politikwatch]

#carstenlinnemann #Brandenburg #Wahl, #Reaktion #CDU ⬇️

[channeledhistory]

Die CDU in Brandenburg will nach der Landtagswahl vom Sonntag nicht weiter mit der SPD über die mögliche Bildung einer Landesregierung sprechen. Das teilte CDU-Landeschef Jan Redmann am Donnerstag mit, nachdem es ein erstes Sondierungstreffen mit Vertretern der SPD in Potsdam gegeben hatte.

[...]

Das Gespräch habe "in einer freundlichen Atmosphäre" stattgefunden, so Redmann. "Trotzdem gilt: Die Mehrheiten sind, wie sie sind. Die SPD hat die Wahl gewonnen. Gemeinsam mit dem BSW haben sie die Mehrheit, eine Mehrheitsregierung zu bilden. Weitere Termine für Sondierungsgespräche sind nicht verabredet worden."

SPD und CDU haben rechnerisch keine Mehrheit, wohl aber SPD und das Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW). Geplant ist ein Treffen zwischen SPD und BSW nächste Woche.

[tanadrin]

Looks like the SPD may have squeaked it out in Brandenburg, which is good news--interestingly, their polling numbers went way up right before the election, which makes me wonder (and certainly hope) that their comparatively dismal state in other polls is at least partly an artifact of expressive responses or non-response bias ultimately counteracted by voters coming home, at least to oppose the AfD. The Greens and Die Linke got totally wiped out, though. Seems increasingly clear that the BSW is just gonna cannibalize Die Linke until there's nothing left of them.

But does mean that the Landtag is now precisely a 50/50 split between centrist parties (SPD, CDU) and two different flavors of complete asshole (BSW, AfD). Kind of awkward.

[awordwasthebeginning]

In Thüringen vergewaltigt die AfD den Parlamentarismus im Landtag und in Brandenburg macht die CDU Zicken, statt sich auf eine demokratische Koalition einzulassen.

Ich fass es nicht.

[wladimirkaminer]

Ostdeutschlands Unbehaglichkeiten

Eigentlich geht es uns gut. Brandenburg, Thüringen, Sachsen sind für mich die schönsten Ecken Deutschlands, hier gibt es mehr Birken als in Russland und die Sonnenblumen werden so groß wie Palmen. Im Herbst, wenn es genug geregnet hat, erwarten wir eine große Pilzernte: Steinpilze, Butterpilze, Maronen. Und die Landtagswahlen erwarten wir auch, allerdings mit Zittern. Mein Brandenburger Nachbar, der bei jeder Wahl immer gerne als Wahlhelfer im Wahllokal sitzt, erzählte, er würde genau wissen, wer im Dorf die AfD wählt. Das seien nämlich diejenigen, die ihre Wahlzettel nicht einmal sondern vier Mal knicken, damit niemand sehen kann, was sie angekreuzt haben. Das hat er mir vor acht Jahren erzählt. Heute schämt sich keiner mehr im Dorf, für die Alternative zu stimmen, sie scheint hier alternativlos zu sein. Die Plakate der AfD haben die alteingesessen  Parteien von den Straßenlaternen verdrängt, nur selten lächelt Frau Wagenknecht mit ihrer frisch gegründeten BSW, sie wird in der Regel sehr tief, unter den AfD-Plakaten an die Lampen angebracht, man merkt, ihre HelferInnen sind ältere Zeitgenossen, sie steigen ungern auf die Leiter.

In fröhlicher Zweisamkeit schauen sich nun die beiden Parteien an. Nein, jetzt habe ich extra nachgeschaut, am Mast hinter der Düngerscheune, wo unser Dorf schon zu Ende ist, am Rande eines endlosen Feldes mit Sonnenblumen, versteckt sich noch ein Plakat der Freien Wähler, es fällt aber kaum auf. Die Ergebnisse der Sonntagsumfragen zeigten in der letzten Zeit ein düsteres Bild. Bei den Landtagwahlen in Sachsen kratzte die SPD an der 5% Grenze, die FDP existierte gar nicht mehr und die Grünen, sollten sie noch ein Prozentpunkt verlieren, wären auch raus aus dem Landtag. Dann hätte die Bundesrepublik in Sachsen ein Dreiparteien- Königreich mit AfD, BSW und CDU. „Die späte Rache des Ostens“ titelten die Zeitungen. Aber wofür denn? wunderte sich der Rest der Republik. Für die Wiedervereinigung? Die war doch besser gelaufen als man sich anfangs vorgestellt hatte. Hätte jemand damals dem Osten erzählt, ihre über alles geliebte Westmark werde bald abgeschafft und eine Ostdeutsche zu Bundeskanzlerin gewählt, hätten sie sich mit dem Finger an den Kopf getippt und dem Erzähler einen Arzt gerufen. „Was haben sie denn, es geht doch den Menschen im Osten gut,“ höre ich oft auf meinen Reisen, ich, der frisch zugezogene Brandenburger.  

Meine Frau und ich wir haben zur Coronazeit Berlin verlassen und sind in Brandenburg heimisch geworden, in Brandenburg gab es wie man weiß, kein Corona. Ganz im Gegenteil haben die Brandenburger damals aus Funk und Fernsehen erfahren, dass sie schon immer richtig gelebt haben, mit einem hundert Meter Abstand zum Nachbar und niemandem die Hand geben.

Gelacht haben wir über die Hygieneverordnungen, gelacht und  gelästert, die Bundesregierung war völlig aus dem Häuschen, sie wusste über die Viren genau so wenig wie über den Osten und zeigte es auch: keine Ahnung vom wahren Leben, mindestens von unserem Leben. Die Gesetze und Verordnungen waren vielleicht gar nicht dämlich, sie wurden bloß für ganz Deutschland verfasst, aber ganz Deutschland ist an jeder Ecke anders. Der Osten ist anders, Brandenburg ist anders. Besonders laut gelacht haben wir über die Ausgangssperre nach 22 Uhr. Wohin soll jemand gehen, um die Zeit? Wir haben kaum Straßenbeleuchtung, wenn ich mich nach 22 Uhr von meinem Haus entferne, bin ich nach fünf Minuten schon im Maisfeld und kann mit den Wildschweinen politischen Diskussionen führen. Die Kneipenschließungen haben uns auch nicht tangiert, wir haben gar keine Kneipe, es gibt ein „Haus des Gastes“ hinterm Wald, die nette Betreiberin hatte es gleich zu Beginn der Pandemie geschlossen, aus Angst vor chinesischen Fledermäusen. Sie hatte aber auch davor nur Freitags auf, die kleine Veränderung der Öffnungszeiten haben die Menschen in unserem Dorf gar nicht mitbekommen. Wir saßen oft an der Bushaltestelle. Wir haben keinen Bus, aber eine hübsche Bushaltestelle. Angeblich gab es hier vor langer Zeit, in den Neunzigerjahren, viele Kinder, die mit einem Schulbus zur Schule gefahren wurden. Und eines Tages fuhr der Schulbus los und kam nie mehr zurück. Seitdem haben wir keine Schule, kaum Kinder und keinen Bus. Aber eine gut erhaltene Bushaltestelle. Und manchmal im Herbst, wenn es davor geregnet hat, sitzen darin fremde Menschen, Pilzsammler, die sich im Wald verlaufen haben und an der falschen Haltestelle rausgekommen sind. Sie warten auf einen Bus. Die Einheimischen nicken den Fremden im Vorbeigehen zu, schauen auf die Uhr und sagen „Kommt gleich“.

Sie haben guten Sinn für Humor, ein bisschen Spaß darf sein. Das Leben macht immer bessere Witze als Fernsehen. Da standen im Ersten Programm neulich zwei Komiker, und machten Witze über den Osten. Der eine sagte, das „B“ bei der AfD stehe für Bildung. Aber das „B“ gibt es bei der AfD doch gar nicht. Wo ist denn da der Witz? Das hat bei uns keiner verstanden. Oft und gerne erinnern sich meine Nachbarn an ihre Heimat, die untergegangene DDR, die Titanic ihres Lebens. Nicht dass sie dieser Titanic nachtrauern oder sie vermissen würden, das nicht. Was vorbei ist, ist vorbei. Aber es sind viele Fragen offengeblieben. Vor allem die Frage, wo ist das ganze Zeug? In der DDR gab es jede Menge Zeug. Wo ist das alles hin? Mein Nachbar, ein Oberst im Ruhestand, erzählte, es gab früher in der DDR drei U Boote. Wo sind sie jetzt? Niemand weiß es. Alles verkauft und verraten, aber es geht uns gut, man kann nicht meckern, sagen meine Nachbarn.

Sie erinnern sich, wie der Schröder kam, als guter Kumpel ins Bundeskanzleramt. Er würde Kohls Versprechen - die blühenden Landschaften – wahr machen, dachten viele, die anfangs noch Kohls „Allianz für Deutschland“ (auch AfD) gewählt hatten. Schröder war für die Schwachen und die Unterbezahlten, er rüttelte an den Gittern des Bundeskanzleramts, lässt uns mitregieren! Zusammen mit dem Lafontaine und dem anderen, wie hieß er noch mal, der Dritte? Genau, Scharping.  Und was hat es gebracht? Harz IV.

Auch 30 Jahre nach der Wiedervereinigung, die gleichen Gehälter kannste vergessen, ein Busfahrer in Düsseldorf und ein Busfahrer in Bautzen bekommen immer noch nicht den gleichen Lohn,  obwohl sie die gleichen Busse fahren.

Die Ostdeutschen kommen sich vor wie die Burgenländer in Österreich, es werden unheimlich gern die Witze über die blöden Ossis und ihre Ostalgie erzählt.

 Und im Westen habe ich tatsächlich Leute kennengelernt, die glauben, der Solidaritätszuschlag wird nur im Westen erhoben. „Wie lange noch sollen wir diesen Soli zahlen?“ regten sie sich auf. „Warum kann der Osten noch immer nicht ohne? Ist es DDR-Erbe?“

Apropos Erbe. Die Karte der Höhe der Erbschaftssteuer in Deutschland spricht eine klare Sprache, fast 90% dieser Steuer wird im Westen erhoben, als wären die Ostdeutschen allesamt Waisenkinder, die nichts zu vererben haben. Aber es geht uns gut, wir haben uns selbst gekümmert und wir sind nicht nachtragend. Nur ein bisschen. Und so kam die AfD, das A steht für Alternative. Zum alteingesessenen politischen Pack, gegen die da oben.

 Und deswegen besteht das politische Programm dieser Partei fast komplett aus Hetze, Hetze gegen die anderen Parteien, gegen die abgehobenen Grünen, die uns erzählen wollen, wie wir essen, heizen  und fahren sollen, Hetze gegen die großen bürgerlichen Parteien, die sich nie gekümmert haben und nur die Aufträge für die Städteverschönerung verteilt, natürlich an Firmen im Westen. Die die ostdeutschen Einkaufszentren errichteten, ohne die Einheimischen zu fragen, ob sie sie haben wollen. Die Gewinne wurden wie stets privatisiert, die Verluste verstaatlicht. In den meisten Einkaufszentren herrscht gähnende Leere, viele Geschäfte haben  zugemacht. Und dann kam die BSW, unsere Sahra hat es noch feiner als die AfD gemacht, sie hat dem Osten den Zauberspiegel gezeigt, in diesem Spiegel ist der Osten noch jung und hat volle Haare.

So funktioniert das menschliche Gedächtnis, man vergisst schnell alles schlechte und malt das Gute besser aus, als es jemals war. Die Sahra liest den Menschen aus dem Märchenbuch DDR vor: kostenlose Kinderversorgung, vernünftige medizinische Betreuung, Bildung für alle, und das Wichtigste von allem: Den Weltfrieden, es lebe die deutsch-sowjetische Freundschaft. Die Russen sind gut, sie waren immer gut zu uns, also können sie keine Kriegsverbrecher sein, man muss sie nur höflich fragen. Bloß der abgehobene Westen weiß nicht Bescheid.  Die Ostdeutschen wissen Bescheid. Viele von ihnen waren früher in Russland, noch in der Sowjetunion, sie haben an der Baikal-Amur Magistrale mitgebaut, am Lagerfeuer sowjetische Schlager mitgesungen. Es war eine sehr schöne Zeit. Sie waren alle Mitglieder der DSF und haben ihre Monatsbeiträge bis auf den letzten Pfenning bezahlt. Ihre Ausweise haben sie noch Zuhause. Sie bringen diese Ausweise zu meinen Lesungen, zeigen die Stempel und sagen: Hier, alles bezahlt. Und wo ist die Freundschaft hin? Die Sahra gibt an, den Schlüssel zur Tür zu haben, der geheimen Tür, die in die Vergangenheit führt. Dort hinter der Tür wartet der Weltfrieden auf uns und die guten Russen gießen Wodka ein und kochen ihre Pelmeni.

Sahras Partei wächst wie Hefeteig viel schneller als die AfD es konnte, ihre Veranstaltungen im Osten sind stets ausverkauft. Die Vielfalt ihrer Themen hat sich in der letzten Zeit allerdings verkleinert. Böse Zungen behaupten, nachdem das BSW fast 9 Millionen Euro Spendengelder aus anonymer Quelle bekommen hat, geht es bei den Versammlungen kaum noch um medizinische Versorgung und kostenlose Bildung, die meiste Zeit  geht es um die guten Russen, also nur um Putin und seine Bande, das nervt, haben mir schon mehrere Anhänger gesagt. Sie wollen lieber wissen, was es mit Deutschland auf sich hat, wenn Amerika weg ist, China floppt und Russland sich in den Kriegen mit den eigenen Ex-Republiken verhakt, was wird mit uns? Was soll aus uns werden?  

[mariacallous]

Exit polls show that the mainstream left-wing Socialist Democratic Party (SPD) won the local elections in the east German state of Brandenburg. If the results stand, SPD may be able to form a coalition with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

According to the exit poll published immediately after voting concluded at 6 p.m. local time (GMT 1600) and conducted for ZDF, one of Germany’s public broadcaster, SPD won 32% of the vote across the state of Brandenburg. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second, with 29% of the votes, while the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) took 12% of the vote. Germany’s mainstream center-right opposition came in fourth, with 11.5%. If the current results stand, it means that one of SPD’s coalition partners in the federal parliament, the Greens, fell below the 5% threshold with just 4.5%. The Left, a party more off-center than the SPD and just like AfD and BSW (which split from it) popular mostly in the communist former East Germany, took 4%. Translated into the division of seats in the 88-seat Brandenburg legislature, this means SPD will have 33 seats, Afd 30, CDU 13, and BSW 12. As mainstream parties, which include both SPD and CDU, have voiced their intention to block the possibility of AfD forming a coalition, the likeliest scenario is that the social democrats and the conservatives will join to form a coalition, having exactly enough seats to gain the necessary majority.

[orc-apologist]

I'm mad about voting tonight (as I have been since my city's Pride on Saturday)

So I live in Thuringia, a state of the former GDR. The former GDR states, or East Germany, are generally depicted as being full of neonazis (true to an extent) and as "having never learned how democracy really works" (not true to an extent). Three of these states are holding state elections in September, Thuringia and Saxony on this Sunday and Brandenburg at the end of the of the month. In all three states the far-right AfD is projected to earn the largest share of the votes (around 30% in all cases).

As context, living standards are pretty drastically worse in East Germany compared to West Germany and East German economy, industry, and infrastructure were drastically deconstructed after the "reunification", which saw the state-owned industry very quickly privatized, usually sold off to the much richer Western companies. East Germany was essentially plundered and has actually seen a population degrowth, despite most of the refugees from the Arabic world being put here. For example, the only city in Thuringia that has grown since 1990 is the city I live in, Jena, which has managed to stay relevant due to its university and college, as well as industry fairly unique in Germany. It's still a fairly small city and has seen nowhere the growth rate as Western centers of industry like Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, and Mainz.

East Germany essentially doesn't know a "good capitalism", the way the West remembers the World Economic Wonder. All it has known is crisis, and crisis far worse than in the West. The majority of settlements, even cities, are absolute deadends here with aging populations because the youth is fleeing to cities with a future. Leipzig and Berlin if they want to, or can't afford to move, stay in the East, or basically any major Western city.

This sort of instability, lack of certainty, and lack of a future is what opens people up to politics that want to break with the current system because the current system is obviously not working. And they're right. It isn't. Thuringia, despite what is being projected, actually has the most leftist government out of all states at the moment after a huge surge in votes for the Left party in the 2019 elections. People were tired of the liberal politics of the SPD and CDU and voted in the self-described socialists. Alas, self-described they remained because, now that they had their seats, the Left was eager to fall in line. The people of Thuringia voted as left as it gets in Germany and they got nothing out of it.

It's only logical that they'll swing right to the AfD, which is now the only (well except the newest party, which is a little too new) "untested" party. It hasn't ruled anywhere in the ~10 years of its existence, but it has used these 10 years well to build itself up as the "answer" to the current political system. It isn't, but that doesn't matter as long as it talks to people where it hurts and takes that hurt to aim it at the wrong people.

The success of the AfD is a direct result of the actions of the other parties. In a bourgeois democracy, these parties ultimately serve the purpose of the nation's capital, its economy and the owners of that economy. They do not serve the people, as they claim, they serve capitalism. This is becoming more and more obvious. The AfD is the only party left with the benefit of the doubt. Really, it barely has that. A large share of its voters are voting it not out of belief but out of protest because they just want the others out, much like many Trump voters only vote Trump because they want Biden out. Sound familiar, by the way?

That's why a vote for the other parties is not a vote against the AfD, and also why a vote for the Democrats is not a vote against Trump. They're votes for them at a later date.

Actually Biden vs Trump 2020 is a great example. People did it. They went out to vote. Trump was unelected. Biden got into office. What changed? What genuinely changed? Nothing. The crisis of capitalism only worsened and the Democrats hardly did anything to stop it. They cracked down on strikes. They cut public funds. They supported war after war. They continued to rule just as before. They maintained the status quo. Voting changed nothing. Now, four years later, we're back in the same place. Trump is back with a vengeance, and the best the Democrats have to offer is Kamala Harris. But even if Harris wins... what will change? Why would the Democrats suddenly change their ways? All they had to do was cry wolf and everyone came to help them, helped them maintain their seats, helped them maintain the status quo. Why change? Why fix a system that's running for you, even if it isn't running for anyone else? Another four years will pass. The Republicans will once again run Trump or someone similar, and they'll be stronger again because even more people will be absolutely tired of the Democrats running their lives into the ground. Maybe the Democrats will edge out another win. But another four years will pass, and another four years will pass after that.

The same is happening in Thuringia. People are calling for an all-party coalition to block the AfD, a popular front. That might work, especially because no party is willing to coalesce with the AfD (well the state CDU is but the national CDU has the final word in that and they won't allow it because it'd be political suicide because the CDU is the reactionary party for reactionaries for whom the AfD is too radical). What would that change, though? These parties would not suddenly start running the state differently, not at all. They'd continue the politics which have been pushing people to the AfD for 10 years. Plus, the whole "marketing" strategy of the AfD is that they're public enemy #1, that all the other parties want to keep them from power because they'd "really" care about Germans, unlike those other parties which care more about evil Arabs and the lazy unemployed than the hardworking, good-natured Arya- Germans. A popular front would only strengthen that narrative and make the AfD even more appealing!!!! Living standards would continue to drop and the AfD would start making sense to more and more people.

This popular front might stop them now, but five years will pass! And five years will pass again!

The answer to all of this is that something needs to change. Genuinely, drastically change. These so-called progressive parties are clearly unable to stop the advancement of reactionary forces. These reactionary forces are continuously radicalized by the drastic drop in living standards that are occurring all over the world. And why? Because wages are stagnating, while profits are skyrocketing. Because rent is too high and groceries cost too much and you can't go to the doctor because you either can't afford it or the waiting list has you on an appointment in four months. Or both. Because there's money for seemingly everything and everyone except you or the people you care about. No money for welfare, but all the money for warfare.

The so-called progressive parties have proven time and time again that they are not that change. They're the status quo. They'll defend that status quo with their lives. They stand in the way of our lives improving and therefore produce the conditions by which reactionary forces grow. Reactionary forces feed off of this desire for change by turning it backwards. We also need to do the same, but turn it forwards. Take that desire for change and create a revolutionary force that will sweep aside the system that is keeping us all down: capitalism.

This is why I'm not voting on Sunday. I'm not telling you not to vote in whatever election might be coming up for you, I am asking you to recognize that this system is a sham. Your "vote against x" is not good enough because this system does not want "good enough". Make what choice you want, I'd rather not waste my time in the booth when I could spend that time studying the ideas necessary to build that revolutionary force.

[atasingorneq]

Demo „Gegen den Rechtsruck auf allen Ebenen: Abschiebungen stoppen, Asylrecht verteidigen, AfD bekämpfen!“

Am 22.09.24 um 18:30 Uhr in #Kiel auf dem #Stresemannplatz

Drei Wochen nach den verheerenden Wahlen in Sachsen und Thüringen, wählt am Sonntag, 22.09.2024, auch das Bundesland Brandenburg. Was vor nicht allzu langer Zeit noch undenkbar gewesen wäre, ist nun zur bitteren Realität geworden: Nach hohen Wahlergebnissen in Sachsen und Thüringen, ist ein Wahlsieg der extrem rechten AFD auch in Brandenburg zu befürchten. Die etablierten Parteien rund um CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP und Grüne setzen dabei die politischen Forderungen der Rechten längst um. Die Folgen dieses Rechtsrucks spüren Migrantisierte und Geflüchtete bereits jetzt tagtäglich:

#Kiel #Demo #NieWiederIstJetzt #zeitzuhandeln

[beardedmrbean]

“If the old parties had done their jobs properly then the AfD would not exist,” Ingolf complains, echoing a common sense that the rest of Germany looks down on so-called “Ossis” in the east.

Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) have already won the most votes in regional elections this month in the eastern state of Thuringia. Now Germany’s bracing for a further political shockwave, as polls suggest the AfD could also take the most votes in Brandenburg state's election in a few weeks time.

Tucked away near the Polish border, in the two tiny villages of Jämlitz and Klein Düben, support for the far right has soared.

A former conservative (CDU) voter, Ingolf is frustrated about how successive governments have handled education, saying standards were better when he was a boy growing up in the communist German Democratic Republic.

He voices anxiety about Germany’s flatlining economy as well as immigration, comparing the far-right riots in England this summer to “civil war-like conditions”.

Disorder that, while nothing like a civil war, has stoked narratives about the potential for violent clashes within multicultural communities.

“That’s not what we want here in Germany,” he says.

In Jämlitz, most notable for a large goose farm, the idea of civil strife couldn’t feel further away.

Nor could the war raging in Ukraine. But the AfD’s call to stop sending weapons to Kyiv is also resonating strongly.

“The money for Ukraine is an issue,” says Yvonne, who sees all war as “senseless” as we chat to her just down the road.

“And this is our tax money that is sent abroad. We have enough things to fix in our own country.”

However, Yvonne is leaning towards another anti-establishment party launched only this year that also opposes supplying arms to Ukraine and which is a surging force in German politics: the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).

Ms Wagenknecht’s personal brand of “left-wing conservatism” has already propelled her party this month into the potential role of kingmaker in Saxony and Thuringia.

However, for her critics, she has simply fashioned another unwelcome populist, pro-Putin movement that’s actively undermining central pillars of German foreign policy.

I challenge Yvonne about the idea of ending arms supplies to Ukraine, which could help Russia win a war it began, by invading its neighbour.

“I can understand both sides,” she says after a little hesitation.

This is the part of Germany where the older generation, from the GDR years, grew up learning Russian language and culture.

It’s also a country, scarred by two World Wars, that retains a strong pacifist streak fed by fears the existing conflict could escalate.

“Poland is not big,” Yvonne says, as she points out the Polish border is only a few miles away. “And we are then the first ones to go when the tanks come across.”

In these two villages, that have a population of under 500 people, 57.5% of voters backed the far-right party in a recent local council election, the largest proportion in Brandenburg.

Across the wider district, that number was 43.7%, also unusually high.

It comes ahead of a larger, state-parliament level vote on 22 September, where the AfD is leading the polls – after they already won the most votes in Thuringia and came a close second in Saxony on 1 September.

In Thuringia, the AfD attracted 36% of the under-30s vote, say election researchers.

Their relative strength in the east is despite the fact the party is viewed by many – and officially classed in three states – as right-wing extremist, a charge its supporters avidly reject.

Even if the AfD does well in Brandenburg it likely won’t take power because – as elsewhere – other parties refuse to work with it.

Not far away, I visit one of the beautiful lakes that have been transformed from their original purpose as open cast coal mines.

As I wander around asking people if they want to talk about German politics, most, perhaps unsurprisingly, are not all that tempted.

A woman called Katrin does agree to speak, although she doesn’t want her picture taken.

Ushering us away from a small crowd sunbathing on the grass and a little beach, she lights a cigarette and is watchful as we wait to hear what she has to say.

It feels like it’s going to be really controversial.

She doesn’t like the AfD – something that can feel like a rogue opinion around here.

“Half the people here didn’t vote for the AfD,” she reminds us, adding she is “devastated” by local levels of support for a far-right party.

But why are they so popular, I ask?

“That’s a good question,” says Katrin. “That’s what I ask myself all the time.”

“There is an old saying,” she recalls. “If a donkey is too comfortable it goes on black ice.”

Katrin is saying that she believes life, actually, is relatively good for people in the community, leading to a misguided “grass-is-greener” syndrome - whether that’s with an eye on the past or present.

Average wage levels and household wealth are lower in the east when compared to the west, although inequalities have narrowed through the years.

Overall, Katrin doesn’t understand it. “I’m still thinking myself, why, why, why?”

You get the feeling that mainstream parties, including those in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government, are similarly unable to quite comprehend, or respond, to the success of either the AfD or BSW, parties polling nationally at about 18% and 8% respectively.

The traditional parties of power are casting a nervous eye to the east and the Germany’s reputation for relatively calm, consensus politics is under strain.

[unfug-bilder]

Sinistre Mächte, die auf das WhatsApp eines Brandenburger Landtags-Hinterbänklers zugreifen? War nicht die CDU die selbsternannte Partei von Recht und Ordnung?

Die Reaktion des CDU-Vorsitzenden Redmann sagt alles: Bloß schnell weg damit, bevor jemand genauer nachforscht.

Mal schauen, ob das so klappt, Herr Redmann. Es forschen aktuell sehr viele JournalistInnen in Potsdam - die meisten zur Villa Adlon. Und an den Ergebnissen kann jede/r sehen, dass da Fachkräfte im Einsatz sind. Nein, nicht bei den Rechten.

[politikwatch]

Sagte #Merz vor 6 Jahren 🤔

#Stattdessen ist er #Wahlhelfer der #Faschisten 🤬⬇️

[pansexual-pied-piper]

Am 30. Juni 2017 stimmte der Deutsche Bundestag über den Gesetzesentwurf zur "Ehe für alle" ab. Von 623 Abgeordneten (7 der eigentlich 630 Bundestagsmitglieder nahmen an der Abstimmung nicht teil) stimmten 393 für und 226 gegen die Verabschiedung des Gesetzes, welches gleichgeschlechtlichen Paaren die Eheschließung ermöglichen sollte. 4 Abgeordnete (allesamt der CDU/CSU-Fraktion angehörig) enthielten sich.

Bis auf die Stimme der fraktionslosen Abgeordneten Erika Steinbach (ursprünglich CDU, seit 2022 Mitglied der AfD) kamen alle Nein-Stimmen aus den Rängen der CDU/CSU-Fraktion, was bei 225 von 309 Abgeordneten bedeutet, dass knapp 73% der Fraktionsmitglieder gegen die "Ehe für alle" stimmten. (Ja-Stimmen gab es von ca. 24%, die Abwesenden und Enthaltungen machten zusammen ca. 3% der CDU/CSU-Stimmen aus.)

Von den 226 Abgeordneten, die damals gegen den Gesetzesentwurf zur "Ehe für alle" stimmten, amtieren zur Zeit 87 als Mitglieder des Bundestags.

Alle von ihnen sind Mitglieder der CDU/CSU-Fraktion. Im Einzelnen handelt es sich bei diesen Abgeordneten um:

Artur Auernhammer (Bayern)

Dorothee Bär (Bayern)

Thomas Bareiß (Baden-Württemberg)

Dr. André Berghegger (Niedersachsen)

Steffen Bilger (Baden-Württemberg)

Michael Brand (Hessen)

Dr. Reinhard Brandl (Bayern)

Prof. Dr. Helge Braun (Hessen)

Heike Brehmer (Sachsen-Anhalt)

Ralph Brinkhaus (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Alexander Dobrindt (Bayern)

Michael Donth (Baden-Württemberg)

Hansjörg Durz (Bayern)

Hermann Färber (Baden-Württemberg)

Uwe Feiler (Brandenburg)

Enak Ferlemann (Niedersachsen)

Thorsten Frei (Baden-Württemberg)

Dr. Hans-Peter Friedrich (Bayern)

Michael Frieser (Bayern)

Ingo Gädechens (Schleswig-Holstein)

Hermann Gröhe (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Michael Grosse-Brömer (Niedersachsen)

Markus Grübel (Baden-Württemberg)

Manfred Grund (Thüringen)

Oliver Grundmann (Niedersachsen)

Olav Gutting (Baden-Württemberg)

Christian Haase (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Florian Hahn (Bayern)

Jürgen Hardt (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Dr. Stefan Heck (Hessen)

Ansgar Heveling (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Christian Hirte (Thüringen)

Alexander Hoffmann (Bayern)

Hubert Hüppe (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Erich Irlstorfer (Bayern)

Thomas Jarzombek (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Anja Karliczek (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Ronja Kemmer (Baden-Württemberg)

Dr. Georg Kippels (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Volkmar Klein (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Axel Knoerig (Niedersachsen)

Jens Koeppen (Brandenburg)

Markus Koob (Hessen)

Gunther Krichbaum (Baden-Württemberg)

Dr. Günter Krings (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Ulrich Lange (Bayern)

Paul Lehrieder (Bayern)

Dr. Andreas Lenz (Bayern)

Andrea Lindholz (Bayern)

Dr. Carsten Linnemann (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Patricia Lips (Hessen)

Daniela Ludwig (Bayern)

Yvonne Magwas (Sachsen)

Stephan Mayer (Bayern)

Dr. Michael Meister (Hessen)

Dietrich Monstadt (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)

Stefan Müller (Bayern)

Wilfried Oellers (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Florian Oßner (Bayern)

Henning Otte (Niedersachsen)

Thomas Rachel (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Kerstin Radomski (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Alexander Radwan (Bayern)

Alois Rainer (Bayern)

Dr. Peter Ramsauer (Bayern)

Josef Rief (Baden-Württemberg)

Dr. Norbert Röttgen (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Erwin Rüddel (Rheinland-Pfalz)

Albert Rupprecht (Bayern)

Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble (Baden-Württemberg)

Andreas Scheuer (Bayern)

Jana Schimke (Brandenburg)

Patrick Schnieder (Rheinland-Pfalz)

Detlef Seif (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Thomas Silberhorn (Bayern)

Albert Stegemann (Niedersachsen)

Christian Freiherr von Stetten (Baden-Württemberg)

Stephan Stracke (Bayern)

Max Straubinger (Bayern)

Astrid Timmermann-Fechter (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Dr. Volker Ullrich (Bayern)

Marco Wanderwitz (Sachsen)

Nina Warken (Baden-Württemberg)

Dr. Anja Weisgerber (Bayern)

Annette Widmann-Mauz (Baden-Württemberg)

Klaus-Peter Willsch (Hessen)

Emmi Zeulner (Bayern)

[bopinion]

2023 / 52

Aperçu of the Week:

"Germany is still paying the price today for what Hitler did. That's why Germany is silent, it has bowed its head."

(This is how Turkish head of state Recep Erdogan explains why Germany has not condemned Netanyahu for the many civilian victims in the Gaza Strip. And I hate to say it: he's right).

Bad News of the Week, Part 1:

Democracy is in danger. And from the right. Take Germany, for example. Looking ahead to the 2024 election year, there is growing concern about a clear shift to the right. Surveys show the AfD as the strongest force in the eastern German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg. In Thuringia, the Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland) is at 35%. Although the state association there, as in Saxony, is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as "definitely right-wing extremist".

The former President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Andreas Voßkuhle, is not the only one to warn of the consequences of the far-right party's electoral success: "The AfD as the strongest parliamentary group in one or more state parliaments would turn Germany's political landscape upside down. The political heads of this party are aiming for a fundamental change in the system".

The leaders of the established parties also agree that the much-vaunted "firewall against the right" must absolutely hold. However, doubts about this are justified. The opposition CDU (Christian Democratic Union) in Thuringia, for example, has already shown in several votings that it is in agreement with the AfD when it comes to opposing the current minority government consisting of the Left, the Social Democrats and the Greens. In doing so, they argue that they can hardly make their own day-to-day political business dependent on the behavior of the right. On the one hand, that is true. On the other hand, the Thuringian AfD is anything but squeamish in its fascist positioning. Its chairman Björn Höcke, for example, said things like "The problem is that Hitler is portrayed as absolutely evil."

No wonder that, according to a court ruling, he can officially be called a "fascist". Reason: the statement that Höcke is a fascist is not an insult, as it is "based on a verifiable factual basis." And this man is currently leading by a wide margin in the election forecasts. And could also lead a minority government if all other parties do not jump over their party-political shadows. Höcke as Thuringia's prime minister for the first time? It's not just me who would sleep badly...

Bad News of the Week, Part 2:

Democracy is in danger. And from the right. Take the USA, for example. Because there are increasing signs that the next president will once again be Donald Jessica Trump. Who is making increasingly radical right-wing statements as the election campaign gets underway. By that I don't just mean his evergreens such as building a wall on the Mexican border or banning Muslims from entering the country. But also his language. Migrants would "poison the blood of our people". He wants to "exterminate" communists. That is Nazi jargon.

The negative effects of his first term of office are still being felt. For example, his appointments of arch-conservative and relatively young judges to the Supreme Court have resulted in a fundamental paradigm shift for decades to come - away from a non-partisan institution and towards a programmatic right-wing agenda. The reversal of abortion rights is just one of the first examples of this. Or his dismantling of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), which he restructured in such a way that it reversed various laws supposed to protect air and water for Trump's financial supporters from the fossil fuel industry. Already during Trump's time in office, 80 environmental protection regulations to curb various pollutant emissions such as mercury or sulphur dioxide were abolished or at least radically weakened.

And Trump has learned. So when he announces that he will grant oil drilling rights "like crazy", abolish health insurance coverage (Affordable Care Act or Obamacare), impose blanket punitive tariffs on all imports or stop investments in renewable energies, that is credible. And the famous "adults in the room" from the last term of office will no longer exist, loyal yes-men would be installed in all positions without exception. Republican Trump critic Liz Cheney openly warns of the disintegration of democracy. Because "the shields, the people who stopped him last time (are) no longer there." Trump as US president one more time? It's not just me who would sleep badly...

Good News of the Week:

An exhausting year has come to an end. Wars, natural disasters, economic problems, political turmoil, etc. have characterized it. Or as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz put it in his New Year's address: "Times have become more turbulent and rougher". Yet not everything in Germany was as grim as it seems at first glance.

An energy transformation was implemented and independence from Russian gas and oil was achieved surprisingly quickly. And even without the feared shortages during the winter heating period. The crunching traffic light coalition with the Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens, which governs Berlin, has held firm despite fundamental differences and sometimes open disputes (a member survey of the Liberals was narrowly in favor of the coalition). And delivers a reasonably solid performance in day-to-day political business. The sensitive topic of migration - which also includes issues such as racism, "Leitkultur" (meaning "defining culture"), security (control) and the labor market - has put a strain on society. But ultimately not divided. I could go on...

The omens for 2024 are not really rosy. But not darker than last year either. Scholz says that Germany is up to the challenges of these times: "We can also cope with headwinds". And that is exactly what will be decisive: "We." If there is a we, a cohesion, the awareness of not being alone in all the crises, of not leaving others alone either, the tasks of the near and distant future can be mastered. "We can do it!" said Scholz's predecessor Angela Merkel. May she be right. All the best for the New Year!

Personal happy moment of the week:

I didn't work last week. Well, at least not "for work", since there were still a household, kids, taxes... a daily life. But the alarm clock didn't ring too early, I saw friends and family, listened to music, ate too much... enjoyed life. And since the holiday January 1st was a Monday this year, my work week starts on a Tuesday and lasts only four days. Fine with me.

As I write this...

...a lot of financial disadvantages become valid at the turn of the year. Two examples of many: The abolition of the energy price brake and the increase in the CO2 price and in the grid fee mean that practically all households will be affected by massively rising energy costs. These are already at a record high due to the war in Ukraine, the Russia sanctions and the destructive sabotage of the Baltic Sea pipelines. In addition to consumers - model calculations show that the cost increases will eat many people's leisure and vacation budgets - energy-intensive industries such as metals, chemicals and building materials will also be affected and will (have to) pass this on in their sales prices.

In the catering sector, VAT will rise from 7% to 19%. The original reduction during the coronavirus pandemic was intended to stabilize demand, as many catering establishments had to reduce their range, number of seats or opening hours due to official requirements. Nevertheless, higher wages and energy prices led to a significant price increase. Now everything will be more than a tenth more expensive in one fell swoop. This means that eating out or a visit to the bar will finally become a luxury that not everyone can afford. We've just had another sumptuous brunch with the children on the occasion of our wedding anniversary before the increase takes effect. This will soon become a sweet memory.

Post Scriptum

"Congratulations, your blog is now 4 years old." writes Tumblr. Thank you.

[orc-apologist]

While Höcke is absolutely a fascist, and so are most of his AfD-colleagues, it is a bit misleading to say he "won" the election. The AfD will not be the governing force in Thuringia, where I live, and Höcke will not be minister president. The biggest problem is that they managed to get a third of the votes, which gives them special parliamentary privileges to block decisions.

The reason I am replying to this post is mostly that it is important not to panic and overreact. Yes, the AfD is a massive threat to every oppressed person and every member of the working class. They are not in power yet. Overreaction now leads to political and tactical mistakes in defeating them, such as banding together with similarly reactionary parties like the CDU and BSW and increasingly the FDP, SPD, and Greens, as was attempted in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg to stop the AfD's success. This failed in all three states and most dramatically in Thuringia where only openly reactionary parties gained votes.

Another tactical mistake is the call for a ban on the AfD. The idea to ban the AfD is borne out of a complete misunderstanding of the reasons that make the AfD so successful. It can seriously backfire in several ways.

Fundamentally, the success of the AfD is their self-depiction as "underdogs". They connect to voters by pointing to the way that the rest of the parties conspire against them as those parties conspiring against the voters themselves. The "poor AfD" simply wants to make Germany great again while the other parties are trying everything to sotp them from doing so. The AfD becomes synonymous with the many, many people in Germany that become more and more impoverished, in many ways because of counterreforms passed by the other parties, even the so-called progressive ones.

A ban would play right into this strategy of the AfD. There would be no clearer "proof" of a conspiracy against them, and thus their voters, than an outright ban. This could incite mass protests which would make the Querdenker-movement of the pandemic pale in comparison. It could massively destabilize the situation with highly unpredictable outcomes, including a potential fucking dictatorship if the AfD manages to use that momentum to stage an outright coup.

Another way this will backfire is that a ban on the AfD would require a loosening on the laws surrounding party bans. This can and will be used against us. Need I remind you that the ONLY party to have ever been fully banned in Germany was the Communist Party? Empowering the reactionary force that is the German state, or any bourgeois state, in any way will ultimately be used against truly progressive forces. For example, the crackdown on the Reichsbürger movement in December 2022 "coincided" with a crackdown on the Last Generation, which received far less news coverage.

And, fundamentally, a party ban would not stop the rise of the right in Germany and the world as a whole. The AfD is not the cause, but a symptom. They're so strong East Germany, not because we're all just racists or because we're German or because we "never learned democracy" as politicians love to say, but because capitalism tore and is tearing East Germany apart. Aside from some centers of industry/intelligence like Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Jena, and Erfurt, East Germany has been massively deindustrialized since the reunification and thus impoverished. Living standards are below nation average in almost every way. Wages are poor. Most people are stuck in deadend jobs, if they have one at all. Something needs to drastically change in East Germany. People know that and people are mad. The AfD is so successful because they know how to channel that anger, not to improve East Germany but for their selfish personal gains.

These problems will not be stopped with a party ban.

today a fascist won an election for the first time since 1933. here, in germany.

i don't care if it's just one (out of 16) states. björn höcke is a fascist. a court decided not long ago that it's allowed to call him a nazi. bc he is one. not "far right" or "conservative" - he is a nazi.

here. in germany. and he just won an election.

it hasn't even been 100 years.

i am scared.