#Willy Brandt

[semioticapocalypse]

Will McBride. Willy Brandt. Germany. 1962

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[thatswhywelovegermany]

So, wie die Freiheit eine Voraussetzung für die Demokratie ist, so schafft mehr Demokratie erst den Raum, in dem Freiheit praktiziert werden kann.

Just as freedom is a prerequisite for democracy, more democracy creates the space in which freedom can be practiced.

Willy Brandt (1913 – 1992), German politician, fourth chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

[lesser-known-composers]

Willy Brandt (1869-1923) - Concert Piece No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 11 (Arr. For trumpet and orchestra)

Artist: Giuliano Sommerhalder

Orchestra: Westphalia New Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Heiko Mathias Förster

[rwpohl]

[waiting-eyez]

Walls in people's heads are sometimes more durable than walls made of concrete blocks.

(Willy Brandt)

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

"Not war, but peace is the father of all things" Willy Brand, German Chancellor

[bopinion]

2024 / 50

Aperçu of the week

“We want to dare more democracy.”

(Willy Brandt at the beginning of his chancellorship in 1969)

Bad news of the week

The coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals in power in Berlin has collapsed after long and sometimes public disputes. The Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed the Liberal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, which resulted in the resignation of all Liberal ministers and the lack of a majority in the Bundestag. As announced, the Chancellor will lose the “vote of confidence” due to a lack of parliamentary majority, after which the Federal President will call early elections, which have already been administratively set for February 23, 2025.

As the elections are now taking place more than 7 months earlier than usual, there is a certain amount of hustle and bustle in the parties. Special party conferences have been and are being held, candidates elected, programs defined and the election campaign planned. All in much less time than originally thought. The conservative CDU/CSU, which has not only been leading in the polls for three years, but also naturally has more time as the opposition, has made the most progress. It had also officially nominated the first candidate for chancellor - CDU party chairman Friedrich Merz. Even if his personal popularity ratings are significantly lower than those of his party. And those of his potential rivals, but presumably that is why he cleared the issue quite early on.

So now everything looks like Friedrich Merz will be the next Federal Chancellor. Which doesn't suit me at all. I was glad when Angela Merkel pushed him out of the leadership of her parliamentary group in 2002 because he was too conservative and reactionary for her. When he returned to politics almost 20 years later, it had unsurprisingly changed fundamentally during this period. Merz, on the other hand, had not. To me, he seems to have completely fallen out of time, but apparently he embodies “the good old days” for many. The fact that this is romanticism and not reality doesn't seem to matter.

The election program that the CDU/CSU was the first party to present to the public fits in with this. Let's take two exemplary points from it. Firstly, “limiting irregular migration” is seen as the most important task after the early federal elections. This is populist nonsense, but it can be used to fish on the fringes of the right all over the world and completely ignores the need for immigration in ageing societies. Secondly, tax relief of 99 billion euros is promised. Of which, according to an analysis by the DIW (German Institute for Economic Research), more than 52 percent went to “the richest ten percent”. Financed by cuts in the social sector. It's going to be cold in Germany next year...

Good News of the Week

German party history has been enriched by a new color symbolism. After coalitions called Jamaica (conservative/black, liberal/yellow and green), Ampel (social democratic/red, liberal/yellow and green) or Kenya (conservative/black, social democratic/red and green), there is now also a blackberry coalition - consisting of conservatives/black, social democrats/red and populists/purple. This is because the CDU, SPD and BSW have elected CDU candidate Mario Voigt as Thuringia's Minister President.

Purple is new to the color scheme. And stands for the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance BSW (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht), which has been in existence for less than a year. A split-off from the left that clearly exceeds its voter potential and whose political course is a rather wild mixture of left and right, the main thing being populism. And it works: the BSW has contested three elections so far (Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg) and was successful in all three. In Thuringia and Brandenburg, they are now part of the government, while negotiations are still ongoing in Saxony.

There are already considerable tensions within the young party, especially between the party at federal level and its state associations. While the former presents itself primarily as a fundamental opposition and unashamed electoral alternative to the far-right AfD (Alternative für Deutschland/Alternative for Germany), the latter is pragmatic and does not shy away from executive government responsibility. However, as part of the coalition negotiations, they have also abandoned fundamental positions of their founder, such as an immediate end to support for Ukraine, in order to fit into the coalition.

Despite these issues of self-discovery and various ambiguities and even impossibilities in the party program, such as “reconciliation” with Russia, I can live quite well with the new BSW. On the one hand, because I am happy for every vote from the left spectrum in these times of a shift to the right. Secondly, because it is ultimately thanks to the BSW that we have not ended up with a political nightmare: an AfD in government. After all, the AfD won the state elections in Thuringia with 32% and by a clear margin. This means that far-right state leader Björn Höcke can continue to spray his poison in the beer tent, but not in the state parliament. Because parties from different camps were able to agree that political differences weigh less than the common interest in preserving democracy.

I couldn't care less...

...that Austria has only had a caretaker government for almost three months now. This was actually voted out of office following the victory of the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). But Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen (Greens) refused to give the task of forming a government to the strongest party. Since then, nothing has been heard.

It's fine with me...

...that the South Korean parliament has removed President Yoon Suk-yeol from office. Anyone who declares martial law because he cannot reach an agreement with the opposition has no business being the head of state of a democracy.

As I write this...

...the new rulers in Syria seem to be keeping their word to some extent to ensure an orderly transition. So far, there have apparently been no attacks, the mood in the country is good despite massive supply problems, women are daring to go out on the streets again and families are reuniting after years. I very much hope that this battered country will now be at a real turning point towards a liberal society.

Post Scriptum

The trial against him has been going on for four years - now Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had to testify in court for the first time. Unsurprisingly, he is accused of corruption and political influence peddling. Many political observers assume that Netanyahu is dragging out the Gaza war and the liberation of Israeli hostages in order to stay in power. The argument is that Israel is at war on several fronts and needs the full strength of its prime minister.

However, the last of many requests for a postponement was rejected and Netanyahu had to appear in court in Tel Aviv. According to the court's order, up to three days a week, several hours a day. This will not actually happen, because no court will want to be accused of preventing a head of state from carrying out his duties in times of war. But the signal is clear: Bibi, you're not getting away with it!

[magauda]

Alla base delle divergenze esistenti tra le due sponde del Reno vi erano una molteplicità di ragioni

Con l’annuncio del 15 agosto 1971, il Presidente Nixon comunicava la decisione unilaterale degli Stati Uniti di sospendere la convertibilità del dollaro in oro mettendo de facto fine all’ordine monetario internazionale così come era andato progressivamente strutturandosi negli ultimi 30 anni. Un fatto di simile portata ha assunto, a buona ragione, un carattere periodizzante. Il regime monetario…

[condamina]

Alla base delle divergenze esistenti tra le due sponde del Reno vi erano una molteplicità di ragioni

Con l’annuncio del 15 agosto 1971, il Presidente Nixon comunicava la decisione unilaterale degli Stati Uniti di sospendere la convertibilità del dollaro in oro mettendo de facto fine all’ordine monetario internazionale così come era andato progressivamente strutturandosi negli ultimi 30 anni. Un fatto di simile portata ha assunto, a buona ragione, un carattere periodizzante. Il regime monetario…

[collasgarba]

Alla base delle divergenze esistenti tra le due sponde del Reno vi erano una molteplicità di ragioni

Con l’annuncio del 15 agosto 1971, il Presidente Nixon comunicava la decisione unilaterale degli Stati Uniti di sospendere la convertibilità del dollaro in oro mettendo de facto fine all’ordine monetario internazionale così come era andato progressivamente strutturandosi negli ultimi 30 anni. Un fatto di simile portata ha assunto, a buona ragione, un carattere periodizzante. Il regime monetario…

[adrianomaini]

Alla base delle divergenze esistenti tra le due sponde del Reno vi erano una molteplicità di ragioni

Con l’annuncio del 15 agosto 1971, il Presidente Nixon comunicava la decisione unilaterale degli Stati Uniti di sospendere la convertibilità del dollaro in oro mettendo de facto fine all’ordine monetario internazionale così come era andato progressivamente strutturandosi negli ultimi 30 anni. Un fatto di simile portata ha assunto, a buona ragione, un carattere periodizzante. Il regime monetario…

[bagnabraghe]

Alla base delle divergenze esistenti tra le due sponde del Reno vi erano una molteplicità di ragioni

Con l’annuncio del 15 agosto 1971, il Presidente Nixon comunicava la decisione unilaterale degli Stati Uniti di sospendere la convertibilità del dollaro in oro mettendo de facto fine all’ordine monetario internazionale così come era andato progressivamente strutturandosi negli ultimi 30 anni. Un fatto di simile portata ha assunto, a buona ragione, un carattere periodizzante. Il regime monetario…

[bigarella]

Il percorso che alla fine degli anni Sessanta la diplomazia italiana prefigurava per la convocazione di una conferenza paneuropea richiedeva gradualità

Accanto alle ambizioni terzomondiste, la politica estera italiana dedicava le sue più vive attenzioni all’Europa, al dialogo con le realtà ad Est della Cortina, alla distensione e alla sicurezza nucleare del Vecchio continente nel suo insieme. Non sempre attraverso il ricorso a strumenti istituzionali del multilaterale, le solerzie diplomatiche italiane si collocavano comunque nel più pieno senso…

[rwpohl]

im schatten der macht, oliver storz 2003

[haraldbulling]

Willy Brand, Bericht über die Rede von Willy Brandt