Well, I think I agree entirely.
Germany
Sun, 2017-09-24 20:00
#52
Sun, 2017-09-24 20:53
#53
Well said, cco. That is exactly how I view the virtue of PR, it's simply more democratic.
Sun, 2017-09-24 21:15
#54
The SPD should just freaking disband. The voters will never trust that party again after all those coalitions with the CDU-CSU, it still pointlessly anathemizes Die Linke even though that party has no meaningful connection with the history of the DDR and even though the Stalinist era ended 29 years ago, it still offers no policies that would win back the voters that switched from the SPD TO Die Linke, and there's no way it can join ANOTHER grand coalition with the CDU-CSU-as we all know they will-and still even pretend to not simply be part of the CDU-CSU.
The SPD has no reason to exist anymore, and can never achieve any future electoral recovery. Those who remain in the SPD should simply recognize this and take steps to allow the Left to finally reunite and recover under some new arrangement or label.
And yes, it is a goddamn tragedy that the AfD and "Adofina" are now in the Reichstag...I mean the Bundestag.
Sun, 2017-09-24 21:28
#55
The fascists and neo-liberals gained. Everybody else lost ground. Not a good result.
Mon, 2017-09-25 00:12
#56
The fascists and neo-liberals gained. Everybody else lost ground. Not a good result.
Not quite true. Die Linke gained two seats, the Greens gained three seats. Small gains, but gains nonetheless.
Mon, 2017-09-25 02:14
#57
Then that'd be a fair reflection of the way Canadians vote. If the Liberals become so toxic that voters punish parties for cutting deals with them, parties won't cut deals with them. The German Social Democrats have lost a substantial chunk of their vote after participating in a grand coalition with the CDU. If, under PR, the NDP goes into permanent coalition with the Liberals, and the NDP base doesn't approve, we're free to go off and form the Socialist Party, no panic over "vote-splitting", and then the establishment learns they can't take the base for granted -- much as the German Social Democrats are looking to go into opposition after this election, lest they vanish entirely in the next one.
If the idea's to favour outcome over process -- that our ideal electoral system should be one that delivers the leftmost government under all circumstances -- perhaps PR isn't ideal. I have a rather more fundamental belief in electoral fairness, though, which means that even if 70% of Canadians end up voting for Harperite parties, they should be accurately represented in Parliament.
PR does not mean I am accurately represented. PR does not distribute power evenly between the seats held. The various parties wheel and deal for their own benefit not mine.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/24/germany-elections-...
First of all, the poll showed that a stunning 60% of AfD voters voted “against all other parties” and only 34% voted out of conviction for AfD.
Some Trump votes are also rage against the machine.
Mon, 2017-09-25 05:13
#58
Angela Merkel Already Implements the Brutal Greek Experiment 'Model' in Germany
http://failedevolution.blogspot.ca/2017/09/angela-merkel-already-impleme...
'Where Are The Russians?'
"No sign of Russian meddling reported during ongoing German elections."
Mon, 2017-09-25 12:03
#59
Actually the Russians were involved in backing AfD
Mon, 2017-09-25 21:39
#60
Germany's New Nazis See Israel As Role Model
Mon, 2017-09-25 21:42
#61
[quote=NorthReport]
Actually the Russians were involved in backing AfD
[/quote=NDPP]
Back on the Louise Mensch twitter feed NR?
Mon, 2017-09-25 23:14
#62
Tue, 2017-09-26 00:41
#63
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/25/afd-le...Yeah...when you're a far-right party and your LEADER defects from you the day after the election because you're TOO far to the right, that's not a good sign.
Tue, 2017-09-26 12:50
#64
Twitter has become a huge factor in elections
How Germany’s far right took over Twitter – and tilted the election
A sophisticated and tightly organised troll army has spent the last three months championing a ‘patriotic revolution’. Boosting the AfD’s power is just the start
With 13.3% of the vote, AfD achieved everything the Identitarians could hope for: the far-right party tripled its vote from the last general election in 2013, comfortably took third place and becomes the first openly nationalist party to enter the German parliament since the second world war.
Users of Infokrieg and Reconquista Germania, a YouTube channel led by the far-right online celebrity Nikolai Alexander, posted triumphant messages. “We are getting stronger and stronger. Praise Kek! Party time!” wrote one, in reference to the fictional far-right land of “Kekistan”.
Reconquista Germania gave rise to a bigger, more extreme group, who convened over the gaming app Discord to form a community where neo-Nazi symbols and Holocaust-denying literature are found next to pro-AfD and anti-Merkel memes. In preparation for “Day X”, its members share comprehensive survival guides that include emergency stock lists, instructions on where to buy knives, how to build electroshockers and how to use weapons such as the FG-42, a Nazi-era gun originally used by paratroopers.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/26/germany-far-right-...
Tue, 2020-10-13 22:03
#65
Poverty in Germany: Power Cuts to 289,000 Households
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/10/13/pove-o13.html
"...Hundreds of thousands of workers have already lost their jobs due to the economic consequences of the pandemic. Millions more are on reduced hours - and income - and fear for their jobs. Many companies and corporations are using the pandemic as a pretext to implement long-standing plans for reductions in jobs and benefits.
The obscene accumulation of wealth at the top of society is the result of intentional policies. But to support those in need and to fight the pandemic, there is supposedly no money. Instead, children are being sent to learn in unsafe schools and kindergartens and their parents forced into unsafe workplaces to generate the wealth that is handed over to the rich."
Sun, 2021-12-12 21:03
#66
'Greek Reforms Are A Role Model For Germany'
https://twitter.com/DiEM_25/status/1468596460904140810
"In case there were still any doubts as to whose interests the new German coalition will serve, new Finance Minister Christian Lindner has just made it clear..."
Wed, 2022-04-13 18:11
#67
America's point of view on Germany.
How Germany Inc. played Russian roulette — and lost
https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-inc-played-russian-roulette-and-...
Wed, 2022-04-13 18:12
#68
Germany tries to mend Ukraine relations after Steinmeier snub
After an embarrassing rebuff for Germany's president from Kyiv, local politicians are scrambling to explain. They insist relations between the two nations are good, despite the brush-off.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-tries-to-mend-ukraine-relations-after-stei...