Interview mit dem Handelsblatt: Thüringen, die AfD und die Zukunft der früheren Großparteien

Mit Dietmar Neuerer vom Handelsblatt habe ich ausführlich über die das Ergebnis der Thüringen-Wahl und die wahrscheinlichen Konsequenzen für die deutsche Politik gesprochen. In der Online-Ausgabe gibt es das Gespräch im vollen Wortlaut. [contentcards url="https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/interview-zur-thueringen-wahl-ungewoehnliche-mehr-parteien-koalitionen-werden-zur-normalitaet-werden/25160996.html" target="_blank"]

Ten links on Germany’s WTF moment

Germany, what the actual fuck?

If you have any interest at all in European politics, you will have noticed by now that the pre-coalition talks in Germany have collapsed on November 19. Because this could mean (amongst other things) fresh elections, and because Germans do not normally do crisis these days, and because a paralysed Germany has all sorts of…

Interview with Diário de Notícias on Schulz vs Gabriel

With the upcoming (well, sort of) election and the shenanigans in the SPD, the world is watching Germany. The other day, I was interviewed by a journalist working for Diário de Notícias. [contentcards url="http://www.dn.pt/mundo/interior/schulz-contra-merkel-nas-eleicoes-mas-geringonca-pouco-provavel-5628465.html"] Just like the next guy, I love the sound of Portuguese, but I don’t understand any more than the odd word…

Quick hit on the Super State Election Sunday (TM)

A mere three hours after the event, it’s obviously too early to write something coherent about the three state elections that were held in Germany today. So let’s try it anyway: For the time being, Germany has a viable Radical Right Populist Party. A result of ~24% in the Eastern state of Sachsen-Anhalt is a…

Is there potential for anti-refugee left-wing populism in Germany?

In the last couple of weeks, much has been said and written about the turning tide in German public opinion on refugees, the growing rift between Merkel and the CSU, the potential of a back-bench rebellion against the chancellor and party leader etc. But one of the most interesting (in my book) details is buried…

Germany gets their first Minister-President of the Left

On Friday, the state parliament at Erfurt voted in Bodo Ramelow as Minister-President of Thuringia. He is the first member of the Left party to hold such an office, backed by the first ‘red-red-green’ (Left/SPD/Greens) coalition ever. 25 years after the fall of the wall, that is still a highly controversial constellation. Ramelow has been…

Meanwhile in Germany: The Great Coalition Treaty Vote

SPD votes on the coalition agreement It’ another slow week for German politics, what with the Mandela Memorial, near-civil war in Thailand, the standoff in Ukraine and the South Korean/Japanese Chinese skirmishes. BUT: a small-scale CDU party conference of some 180 delegates has approved unanimously of the CDU/CSU/SPD agreement (a ‘Coalition Treaty’ in German parlance,…

Meanwhile, in a Parallel Universe: The Great SPD Party Conference

This weekend, the SPD held their party conference in Leipzig. In some alternate reality, this conference would have approved of the SPD/Green coalition agreement. On our plane, the party conference could be a turning point for the ongoing coalition talks. Or perhaps not. Also featuring: A ruse within a feint within a plot.