German Politics Thread

I agree.

As for Berlin - in the end, it's the place where the wall came down. If nothing else, I am satisfied with that being the reason that it's the capital. (I live close to the former Bornholmer Straße border crossing, and it is a very shivers-down-my-spine place.)

In other news: galaxy to be renamed!◊ *

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Galaxy to be renamed? Do you have April Fools in Germany?

(I just realised that's a serious question. That's some major ignorance on my part.)

edited 1st Apr '12 9:56:14 AM by GameChainsaw

The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.

yes we do ;)

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We possessing anything remarkably humorous? Preposterous!

Programming and surgery have a lot of things in common: Don't start removing colons until you know what you're doing.

One April Fools Day joke that only a German would find funny would be that Merkel has decided to leave the Euro and replace it with an all-new German currency: the Sauerkraut.

Seriously, I don't get those Sauerkraut jokes, and I've even tried thinking of them as anti-humour.

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

@Best Of: It helps that 'Milky Way' is "Milchstrasse" in German, which is literally "Milk Road" (or "Milk Street"). Which theoretically could be a perfectly ordinary name for a street in Germany named after somebody called "Milk". Hence, "Schmidtstrasse".

Doesn't probably work this way in most other languages.

edited 1st Apr '12 12:40:00 PM by LordGro

Let's just say and leave it at that.

Why wouldn't it? Way and street are not exactly that dissimilar.

Anyway. Current polls see Pirates at 9% on federal level. Wat.

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Just to chime in on that again: I agree.

Of course I was born here in Schleswig-Holstein and I genuinely like it, but I don't identify myself with it culturally more than with Germany. But I too have to remark that this is probably a bit biased, as there is no real "culture" here to identify with in comparison with all the other states, if you'd ask me.

edited 1st Apr '12 12:48:14 PM by Lock

Programming and surgery have a lot of things in common: Don't start removing colons until you know what you're doing.

I'm going to chime in regarding federalism: I like the diversity approach and I get that the lands want recognition of theur power but some things just don't function right and should be handled by a central goverment. Biggest example: education. I went to a boarding school and alot of the pupils came from different states and it. was. a. mess. Moving to another state is really affecting your school life. I was one of the fortunate ones and only lost a year chemistry I should have had. I could rant for hours about the state of the education politics and all experiments that are involved with that but if I had too change just one thing about it it would be centralization since yesterday.

But what point is there in federalism if in the end everybody does the same anyway? Not much self-government in reality then... Personally, I'd give German states all the powers American states have.

Also: Wow. Emnid sees the Pirates at 9%, Forsa even at 12%...

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Hmm, and the FDP is defending Switzerland's decision to issue warrants for those clerks who bought the CD containing Data about tax evaders

...I can not see the advantage they think it will give them...trying to prevent further CD's bought by it and appealing to the tax evaders??

edited 3rd Apr '12 10:41:42 AM by 3of4

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What are German relations with Switzerland like anyway? I mean I suppose they must be the same as any other country, but seeing as Switzerland shares a border and isn't in the EU, I imagine there must be some quirks.

The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.

Not that out of the ordinary. Getting over the border is no real problem. I've got relatives in Zürich and when my parents visit them they never spoke of anything more than "we're gonna drive to Zürich".

Currently the main problem is that German clerks bought an illegally obtained CD containing data about a lot of money being hidden in Switzerland which pissed Switzerland off, and they issued warrants of arrest for them, so for them a Vacation on the wrong beach of the Bodensee*

might be...unwise.

edited 3rd Apr '12 10:55:10 AM by 3of4

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Of course. It's the FDP. To survive at all they'll have to appeal to a niche electorate. But it's really a goddamn, fucking disgrace. Are those German officials to be sacrificed as scapegoats now? That's just enraging.

Tense currently... I like the idea to retaliate: Issue arrest warrants against leading bankers in Switzerland for aiding tax fraud. Already Credit Suisse has basically issued travel warnings for its employees for Germany. So this could end up in a sort of legal war. If our government has the balls for it instead of appealing to the rich fatcats.

edited 3rd Apr '12 10:52:31 AM by Octo

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I actually do not see the problem with Schäuble over this. As far as i know he only said it was comprehensible. As Switzerlands laws were broken it is indeed comprehensible if they'd give out warrants of arrests. Probably just the opposition trying to turn a fly into an elephant again instead of...you know....give an ALTERNATIVE.

That being said if we extradite anyone over this we start with the Minister in charge of it and bring half the government in question along as possible accomplices.

edited 3rd Apr '12 11:00:44 AM by 3of4

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They did offer an alternative: Absolutely condemning and rejecting the Swiss shenigans. Sure, the Swiss act within their legal framework, but that's not the point. As Dienstherr of the officials, the state, represented strongly by Chancellor and Ministers, has to put itself between the officials and harm occuring as part of their service. Plus, buying the data was the right decisions, no matter how much those self-serving assholes from the FDP may dislike it.

edited 3rd Apr '12 12:17:54 PM by Octo

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I agree. I'm just annoyed at the speed at which the opposition (whichever is in it at the moment) is willing to use anything which APPEARS to be bad against the government. Its getting weary offer time and it doesn't help the opposition, I think. I meant alternative in a general sense, not in this specific.

I want opposition because they truly believe they have the better ideas, not opposition because " its us against them!"

edited 3rd Apr '12 12:24:06 PM by 3of4

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I love the Pirates, but they really should avoid getting house-trained by the civil service and the press, à la Yes Minister or The Thick Of It, to quote fictional evidence. Real evidence? The Greens... and how the press gushed at length about them, "holding their breaths", like the greens didn't have DECADES of government experience under their belt.

I'm not sure it's so much worse with the Pirates than in other parties, actually. The most infamous gaffe was when that one Berlin candidate was asked how much debt he thinks the state has and he said "some millions" instead of, well, billions - but how many Bundestag memebers really knew how much money was thrown away with those payments to that European stability funds? The Heute Show had a hilarious segment about it, where Sonneborn asked several MdBs before the vote, and not a single one of those shown would under any circumstances answer him.

edited 8th Apr '12 5:44:42 PM by Octo

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So they have been house-trained.

Sooo, Gesine Lötsch, the chairwoman of the Linke (Left party) has stepped down, citing family issues.

I bet 5 Euros, that before the NRW election comes around Oskar Lafontaine is boss of the lefts again. Who's in? ^^

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Is "family issues" an abused term in Germany, or does it actually mean there's a problem with her family that would interfere with her duties, which she would otherwise be totally capable of performing?

Except for 4/1/2011. That day lingers in my memory like...metaphor here...I should go.

It's just as much a convenient excuse as elsewhere, but it can also as much be actually true. The Linke is always divided in bitter fight between its various wings, but I cannot remember her having been under any particular criticism. So I would assume it was genuine, but can't be sure.

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http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/bundestag-fraktionen-wollen-rederecht-beschneiden_aid_737227.html sory only found a german link.

Apparently CDU, SPD and FDP want to "reform" the speaking rights in the Bundestag (our Parliament) in a way that only the people get a right to speak if they have been chosen by their part-fraction. Those who don't may only speak in exception, 2 minutes less than before (3 instead of 5) and if the fraction allows it.

Frankly, i see this as blatant attempt to try to silence dissenters in the party-fractions and in that a direct assault on our democracy.

I voted for the delegate of my constituency so he does represent it. But he only gets to do that by speaking in parliament of his bosses in the party allow it?

Also, as one of the commentors of that link said: German Grundgesetz (Our Constitution): Article 38 1) Members of the German Bundestag shall be elected in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections. They shall be representatives of the whole people, not bound by orders or instructions, and responsible only to their conscience.

So they may keep their conscience in silence? The Grundgesetz (Article 43) gives guaranteed right to speak to the Federal Government and the Bundesrat (represents the states), but those who sit in the latter are chosen by the state governments and can be recalled by them.

So basically they try to silence every dissenting opposition with this?

What do you think of this...*strikes swearword*

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