ZEIT online fill their virtual pages with a piece on the plight of the Austrian Pastafarians, who strive for legal recognition by the state. Apparently the cult of the FSM has risen to such prominence that a ÖVP (Austrian Christian Democrats) politician felt obliged to tweet a picture of their party president shaking hands with…
You could not possibly make this up. Amidst a legal-constitutional battle over the NPD’s survival, the Secretary General (top executive manager) of Germany’s oldest right-wing extremist party NPD resigns over what is by now affectionately known as the Saarbrücken Penis Cake Affair. The story (as ridiculous as it gets) also involves Miss Nationalist Santa, and…
The first round of the French local elections created quite a stir, and the second wasn’t bad for the anoraks either.
[caption id="attachment_13132" align="alignleft" width="408"] Lord Salisbury on the drawbacks of universal suffrage. Cited in David Marquand, Britain since 1918, p. 54[/caption] MP, Peer, Secretary of State for India, Foreign Secretary, Leader of the Opposition, thrice Prime Minister of Britain, architect of the Empire and arch-Conservative. Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, third Marquess of Salisbury and colloquially known as…
Party system change, illustrated. Germany’s FDP was represented in the federal parliament from 1949 until 2013. During this time, they were part of various government coalitions for more than four decades. In 2009, they managed to attract more than 14 per cent of the vote, their best national result ever. Many voters did not like…
It’s been a boring three months without any offbeat news on the right-wing extremist NPD, but here is hope. The NPD tries to put some distance between themselves and a nationalist porn star.
Yesterday, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled on the constitutionality of Germany’s biggest broadcaster, telling parties to keep away. Plus there is a spoof video in this post.
Much has been said about the Front National’s performance in yesterday’s local elections, but not yet by everyone. Here is a bunch of useful links to bring your punditry up to scratch.
Here is a nice little conundrum for you: Can you say something relevant about politics, parties and political culture while staying absolutely neutral? And what do you do when your editor thinks you’ve crossed the line while you fail to see their point? Also featuring Red Hesse (or maybe not).
Germany’s Constitutional Court just killed the electoral threshold for European Elections. Here is the backstory, i.e. my random thoughts on the issue.