So, there is something I've been wondering about: How does the base of the Green Party take their leadership's "give heavy weapons to Ukraine!" stance?
Because for a party that began as part of the peace movement, this is surely an extreme change in political-military approach.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanThe Green Party's current leadership has been pretty consistently downplaying nonviolence in favor of "we live in the real world and have to be able to defend ourselves." They support a United States of Europe, consider NATO to be key to Europe's security and have known Putin for what he was since at least 2014.
Actually, "we live in the real world" is a pretty apt summation of the difference between Germany's Greens and some other Green parties I could name.
Edited by Ramidel on May 11th 2022 at 11:47:17 AM
Except when it comes to nuclear power… Though my understanding is that that’s a general German politics problem, not one specific to the Greens.
Have the German Greens also managed to avoiding melding with the hippie anti-vax movement? As that’s long been an issue with the British Green Party (though they’ve never actually embraced them).
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
If I recall correctly, sure those groups were originally more prominent, but are now farily marginalised within the Greens. There also used to be a pro-pedophilia group back in the day when sexual liberation was a big topic. Thankfully, the Greens have long excised the latter and actually requested an investigation into the matter a few years ago.
Historically, the Greens have been split into two groups, the Realos and the Fundies (terms are likely self-explanatory) - overall, the Realos won out, especially on the federal level.
Long story short: Like most parties, the Greens had their fair share of cranks, but those have pretty much been pushed to the sidelines, if not outright excised from the party.
I think most of the crazies who used to support the Greens have moved on to more esoteric splinter parties.
Edited by DrunkenNordmann on May 11th 2022 at 10:41:04 AM
We learn from history that we do not learn from historyGerman state elections show populism in decline on left and right
Looks like there is reason for some optimism in NRW. The populist parties have both lost significantly, with the Left party not even getting close to the 5% threshold and there is good chance that the CDU will continue to govern. Reul will hopefully get the opportunity to continue his fight against organized crime.
AFD still came out of it with 12 seats, so it’s not that much cause for celebration. The CDU also now lack a majority even with the FDP, who seem to have taken the brunt of things and are now in a deep 4th place.
A SPD-Green government looks the most likely to me, as while it’s not technically got a majority it’s got more seats than the CDU and FDP (95 to 84, with 98 for a majority).
Would either the SPD or Greens be willing to coalition with the CDU over each other?
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranChat group leak reveals far-right fantasies of Germany’s AfD
Called the Quasselgruppe, or “yakking group”, the chat contains conversations between 76 of the 92 Alternative für Deutschland M Ps who entered parliament in 2017 for the first time after the federal election.
It contains about 40,000 posts sent from 2017 to 2021 and was passed on by an anonymous Af D member last summer to journalists from the broadcasters NDR and WDR who were making a documentary about the party.
The discussions focus on topics including the US presidential election, the pandemic and how the aggressively nationalistic Af D should position itself with regards to the Querdenker movement, a coronavirus denial group.
It also touches on other events that deeply shocked the political world in Germany, such as the storming of the Reichstag building in September 2020 by demonstrators protesting against coronavirus safety measures who were assisted by Af D members, and the constitutional crisis, also in 2020, triggered by the collaboration between the Af D and the CDU that enabled the election of a state premier in Thuringia.
Also discussed are the homophobic attacks on the former health minister Jens Spahn, and the SPD MP Johannes Kahrs.
There are calls for regime change, reflecting some of the language widely heard among anti-Merkel street protests in some parts of eastern Germany, with one calling for the “old regime” to be brought to an end, predicting a “ruthless battle” for which it would be necessary to arm.
On Merkel, then chancellor, one post read: “This traitor deserves to be sent to prison until the end of her life.”
Indications of internal party disagreements are rife. There is criticism about the party leadership’s failure to not have “pulled the plug” sooner on its radical wing, known as “der Flügel” or wing, due largely to the bad publicity it brought.
Parliamentary leaders Alice Weidel, Alexander Gauland and Tino Chrupulla are accused repeatedly in the chat of having weak strategies and of failing to boost the party’s profile.
There is also much disgruntlement over the Af D’s failure to make its mark in parliament, with some M Ps referring to their own parliamentary faction as a “chaos outfit”.
Weidel was reported to have lost her temper at a meeting of parliamentary colleagues when news of the leaks came to light, asking them how it was that the internal communications had been made public. She told the makers of the documentary that she had not been part of the group, that she distanced herself from the remarks and had become accustomed to calls to oust her.
After the party was made aware of the leak, internal discussions led the party to switch to communicating on Telegram instead.
The Af D, which was founded in 2013, entered the Bundestag for the first time in September 2017.
Edited by DrunkenNordmann on May 21st 2022 at 9:28:08 PM
We learn from history that we do not learn from historyGermany scraps Nazi-era law that barred doctors’ abortion ads
The governing social democrat, liberal and green parties, as well as the leftwing Die Linke, provided sufficient votes on Friday to scrap paragraph 219a of the German criminal code, which meant any doctor who publicly “offers, announces [or] advertises” abortion services could face penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine.
The parliamentary blocs of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and far-right Alternative für Deutschland voted against lifting the restrictions.
Lisa Paus, the minister for family affairs, described the result as a triumph that would strengthen women’s right to self-determination in Germany. “Today is a good day for doctors in Germany – and especially for the women in our country,” said the Green party politician.
The justice minister, Marco Buschmann, of the liberal Free Democratic party, said the vote had ended an absurd state where “any troll or conspiracy theorist” was able to spread lies about abortions over the internet, while medically qualified doctors were banned from providing information.
The legal change was criticised by the conservative CDU, whose legal affairs spokesperson, Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, said it would enable “proactive advertising online” that would imply that abortion was an “everyday medical treatment”.
Abortion in Germany remains technically illegal, though women and doctors do not face penalties if the pregnancy poses a health risk, in the case of rape, or if the abortion is carried out within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and after mandatory counselling.
Paragraph 219a, which dates back to May 1933, shortly after Adolf Hitler assumed full powers of Nazi Germany, was a further barrier. Rarely used for decades, it was discovered by anti-abortion activists in the second decade of the 21st century as a means to systematically target doctors who offer abortion services.
The paragraph of the criminal code meant doctors could be fined even if their websites stated what procedures they used when performing abortions. Over the last two decades Germany has seen a significant decline in the number of clinics performing abortions, from 2,050 in 2003 to 1,109 in 2020.
The vote in the Bundestag was watched over from the visitors gallery by Kristina Hänel, a gynaecologist who in 2017 was fined €6,000 (£5,140) for breaking the law by publishing information about abortion services on her website.
“I am relieved and delighted that paragraph 219a will likely be abolished”, Hänel told the public broadcaster ZDF on the eve of the vote. “I believe it means we have reached the goal of giving women the right to information about ending a pregnancy.”
And people wonder why I generally despise conservatives.
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.So this wasn't just the traffic light coalition deciding to do a Nice Thing but a coordinated effort by advocacy groups to address a law they felt was against their interests? Actual functional democracy in the year of our Lord 2022?
This is the best news I've had all week.
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.The status of abortion in Germany still isn’t solved though, if there’s one the US situation should have taught us it’s that nebulous legalisations are easily swept away by the right and that a women’s right to choose should be formally codified, rather than only held in place by loopholes and precedent rulings.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranI feel like it's a real mask-off moment for the anti-reproductive health troglodytes that they dug up a penal code written by the Actual Nazi Party in order to keep doctors from being able to do their jobs.
I'd say it's a profound sense of self-awareness but that would imply they're not exactly who they're saying they are.
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.


Berlin bans Russian and Ukrainian flags during WWII commemoration
BERLIN — Authorities in Berlin have banned Russian and Ukrainian flags from being flown near the city’s memorials this weekend as people commemorate the 77th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
“The act of remembering as well as the respect for memorials and monuments must be preserved against the background of Russia’s current war of aggression in Ukraine,” the Berlin police said in a statement on Friday. “The war must not be allowed to spill over into conflicts or disputes in Berlin beyond the democratic discourse.”
After the defeat of the Nazis, monuments were erected throughout Berlin to commemorate Soviet loss of life during the war. For example, the 12-meter-tall Soviet War Memorial in the eastern borough of Treptow shows a Soviet soldier breaking a swastika with his sword. Such monuments are expected to be popular gathering points this weekend for those who condemn the current war and those who defend it.
The police said that as well as a ban on Russian and Ukrainian flags near such sites, the playing of military music is also prohibited.
“We will protect dignified commemoration at 15 memorials and monuments through comprehensive regulations designed to prevent any confrontation at these sites,” said police chief Barbara Slowik. “At the same time, we are taking action against any form of support, approval, or even glorification of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, especially in gatherings.”
In early April, hours after pictures of the massacre in Bucha outside Kyiv were published, a 400-car-strong pro-Putin motorcade drove through Berlin, drawing fierce criticism from across Germany and beyond.