#merz

[garadinervi]

Kurt Schwitters, Merzzeichnüng 54. Fallende Werte, (mixed media on paper), 1920 [Centre Pompidou, Paris. Public domain. Photo: Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI / Bertrand Prévost / Dist. GrandPalaisRmn]

[dasloddl]

Reblog to make the Kanzler stolper

[waytootiredstudent]

Why the CDU/CSU can go fuck itself

Time for another one of these. a quick(ish) summary for all the non-german speakers about why we're freaking out and the state of our democracy.

Spoiler. its not...good. Not catastrophic (yet). But the alarm bells are very, very loud.

Tl;dr: The CDU, party currently prognosed to win the election, has basically worked together with the afd to get a migrationbill to pass that is very strict. The afd are the nazi party that is getting backed by Musk. This might forshadow a cooperation between AFD and CDU. That would put the far right in power. The current response from the general public are demonstrations against that. Like. there are a LOT of protests currently.

Alright grab a drink and lets go.

First, groundwork: Who are parties and who is the guy we currently all want to punch in the face?

on top: Careful, risk of confusion. on the left: on the board of a sleazy cooperation. not interested in the enviroment. Real. On the right: on the board of a sleazy cooperation. not interested in the enviroment. comic figure.

This guy here is Friedrich Merz. no, not the guy on the right. the guy on the left. I know. Easy mistake to make.

He's an asshole. He's also the current boss of the CDU and their chancellor candidate. He's very likely to win according to recent polls.

The CDU has a complicated history, but to simplify it: They were in charge for sixteen years before the now broken apart Traffic-light goverment and are responsible for a lot of shit that we're currently dealing with. Like crumbling infrastructure for example. They were more interested, as a party, to preserve the status quo at all costs, than to invest anything. You could argue that a lot of the enviromental issues we are facing and the reason why Germany is currently pretty stagnant, can be traced back to the one and a half decade the CDU was in charge. They are conservative, not a fan of migration and like to throw around 'tradtional values'.

They are, generally speaking, or better were, center right. More on that later.

The other party that is going to be a major pain in the ass to outright fucking dangerous, is the AFD, short for 'Alternative for Germany'.

this is Alice Weidel, she's the current chancellor candidate for the afd. here is her wikipedia article and lets just say her 'controversies' part is longer than her 'political positions' part.

Those are the, to put it bluntly, Nazis. They are dangerous but also a fucking mess. Like, to just list a few of their hits: They've been getting money from dictators (different ones btw, not just one), infigthing is a sport to them, they try to glorify the nazi-regime, the german intelligence agency is watching them because they are officially considered radical right-wing and a threat to democracy, there is a petition to ban the afd and that is a high bar to cross, the demonize immigrants, hate queer people, you know, the usual. Also of course political correctness has gone too far and climate change isn't real and we need to leave the EU. Elon Musk, you know the rich guy who did the Nazi-salute, also has been appearing and is actively supporting them. Just in case we were unclear before on where they all stand.

(btw the whole 'elon is supporting them' thing is pretty scary bc you could argue the reason that the afd is able to win so many votes is bc, frankly, they're good at social media. Do i need to elaborate why that is a dangerous combination.)

to put them into perspective: The afd is too right for the other alt-right parties in the EU parlament. There is a coalition in the EU Parlament for the right, made up of all the right wing parties from other nations and the afd is too right for them. So. yeeeeaaah.

that should do it as background information.

Now. back to current events. where both of these parties are getting more and more support.

For a short history of why we currently have a non-functioning goverment, i made a post about that. Be aware that it was made as a product of its time and doesn't have all the information. For example back then we didn't know that FDP had actively engineered that break up and wanted it to happen for a while. Yes. They wanted to topple the goverment they were in. on purpose. It's been a fun time over here in Germany as well.

anyways, lets get to the meat of things. Since we don't have a functional goverment currently, Merz has introduced a harsh migration bill. This has been in the wake of an attack with two murders, where the current suspect is a migrant. while this is a tragedy, its getting brutally misused by all out rightwing parties to scream about how we need stricter migration laws and that migrants are a danger. Which to be so fucking clear about this, is such bullshit. It's been proven so many times how that is bullshit. I'm gonna be real and not even bother. They're just the newest scapegoats everything can be blamed on.

But because nobody has a majority, all attempts at governing so far have been pretty stalled.

(our goverment currently)

Quick information from the past:

in 2018 the CDU basically stated they wouldn't, in any sort of way, cooperate with the AFD, declaring basically a Brandmauer (fire wall). This basically means that yes, the afd had been given seats in the parlament, but nobody would give them any power whatsoever.

This has been the position of the cdu. It is why people still considered them center-right.

Merz has repeatedly said he didn't care who voted with him. now with a slight majority, 348 to 344, the cdu has won, with the support of the afd. Many see this as the fall of the Brandmauer. It's not good. Merz has more and more talking points that sound exactly like the afd and that is SCARY. There is still a vivid memory alive here about why having a far-right goverment is dangerous. There is a reason why there are currently a lot of massive protests all over the country loudly proclaiming that 'never again is now'.

This also puts for many the cdu from 'center right' to 'right'. There are calls from inside the cdu to 'stop demonizing the afd'. This is scary. This could mean that we get not just a conservative goverment in a few weeks, but a rightwing one. One who is comfortable cooperating with radical right wingers if it suits their needs. To cooperate with a party that even our own intelligence agencies consider a threat to our democrazy.

So. that is why your german mutuals sit there like

Now. To another part. What exactly is that migration bill merz had wanted to pass so desperateldy?

Well first of all it calls for a national emergency, using the beforementioned murder as reasoning, for the danger of immigration. It calls for closing and controls at the borders permanently, not temporary as is curently the case. They want for people without valid ID to be refused entry, even when they are searching safety. People that are already in Germany but need to leave should be thrown in jail until they actually leave.

Which. just to be clear about this. this what the bill they had, that had the support of the afd, says. This is not a wish list. This what they want to be law.

But to be also clear, lots of this is against our current law, against Basic EU law and principle and also a pretty big violation of our constituation.

Which is what makes this situation so fatal. This bill is going to be fought. In court, in politics, with demonstrations on the streets. this bill is controversial. Merz knew that. he knew that a lot of this wouldn't pass. This is a publicly stunt. This is testing the waters. How much will the public allow? how far can he push? Is cooperation with the afd possible for him? How does everyone react?

It was never about immigration or that bill. All the people this is going to impact, all the lives that are going to be lost because of this shit they are pulling - this is to them all just collateral. Its testing how much is possible, tolerated even. The chances of this bill making it law is slim. It needs to pass again in a different body of the goverment with a two thirds majority and that is nowhere in sight.

Also, lets take a look at who voted what:

it was about four votes. So my german friends who also read this - look at this and be aware of who voted what. Who abstained to vote and gave up the four votes it would have taken to stop this. who accepted that to get what they want they would need to get the support of the afd, no matter how much Merz now claims that he still doesn't cooperate with the afd and that there were no talks between them. Look at the numbers. Look how and with who they voted.

To be frank, i am pretty pissed off. I don't think much about wallowing in self-pity and despair. i am pissed off about what is happening. i am pissed off that these people don't have a spine, i am pissed off at the FDP for enabling this in the first place, i am pissed off that we have Nazis in out goverment, i am pissed off that we have people who are willing to cooperate with them. I am pissed off that i need to settle for damage control instead of being able to see something finally move forward.

Now here we come to the less depressing part of this whole thing. And i want you to pay attention to it.

People are protesting. loudly. And in the thousands. There have been ten to a hundred thousands of people all over the country in the last week, protesting against the rise of faschism and the far right. Its all over the country, in different cities. Where the afd appears to talk, so do the protesters. There are 35 afd people to 1300 protesters. People loudly say 'never again is now'. And they show up to back that claim up.

This shit is vile, yes, but it's not going to be unopposed.

I know this all reads as depressing as fuck but do not give into the temptation of falling into despair. This is far from over. Yes those are the alarm bells and they are ringing loudly. But there is still things that can be done. Don't let the afd lure you into thinking this all pointless anyways. It's not. This is all not good, yes, but no reason to fall into blind panic. The bill isn't law yet. Merz is facing massive backlash for his little stunt. This is not a hopeless situation. It's just a shitty one.

[euanlynn]

Two views of Merz Court, Newcastle University

Polaroid SLR 680, Polaroid 600 b&w film

[igraine-ohnefurcht]

So, fellow Germans, how are we feeling tonight? Please hug your queer and non-white friends and those of us that haven't been born with citizenship. We need each other. Community is the only thing that can save us.

[alaskaenmelena]

Why Merz Is Openly Conflicted with the US? The usually cautious German Chancellor suddenly engaged in a public spat with the US President – ​​and forced a statement regarding the withdrawal of some American troops from Germany. What is the background to this conflict between Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump – and how will it ultimately end? "Smile and wave." This is precisely the policy EU leaders have pursued toward Donald Trump over the past year. Then he effectively accused Trump of humiliating the entire United States with his actions. "The Iranians are obviously very skillful at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at avoiding negotiations, allowing the Americans to come to Islamabad and then leave again without any results. The entire country is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership," the Chancellor stated. In other words, he also made Trump look like a fool. "Merz is being rude to Trump because he senses that the US president's political position is rapidly weakening. "Merz's approval rating in Germany is lower than Trump's in the US. Therefore, he blames Trump for worsening the economic situation in Germany, Europe, and the global economy as a whole. He is essentially trying to salvage his own domestic situation by shifting the blame for Germany's socioeconomic difficulties onto others." Merz's words are finding an audience in Germany. "Germans have many reasons to complain about the US. These include the memory of Nord Stream (the explosions of which the Americans had a hand in), the wiretapping of Angela Merkel, and Trump's tariffs. The US is behaving extremely rudely toward Europeans, and Europe is trying to respond, at least rhetorically."

Trump's approval ratings are bottoming out almost every week. The US is becoming increasingly unpopular in Europe, even among European far-right groups such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) or the French National Rally. Orbán's defeat only underscored that friendship with Trump is a burden, not an asset, for European politicians.

The American leader's response was swift. "German Chancellor Friedrich Merz considers it normal for Iran to possess nuclear weapons. He doesn't even know what he's talking about… It's no wonder things are so bad in Germany – both economically and in general," the US president declared. He then threatened to withdraw American troops from Germany. Currently, 35,000 American troops are stationed in Germany, along with the headquarters of the entire US European group. Plans to withdraw 5,000 American troops from Germany are already under discussion.

What is the reason for the ever-cautious German Chancellor's boldness?

Realizing that reaching an agreement with the head of the White House would be impossible, they decided not to publicly confront him. Verbally agree, call him "daddy," and at the same time bet that all of Trump's radical desires will be quashed by the American "deep state" (as happened, for example, with tariffs). And then continue in this format at least until the midterm congressional elections (when the Democrats regain control of the Capitol and Trump becomes a lame duck), and at the latest until 2028, when the current eccentric US president leaves office.

However, now one of the EU leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has abandoned this approach and launched a direct attack on the American leader. First, Merz accused Trump of ill-considered actions against Iran. "The Americans clearly have no strategy. The problem with such conflicts is that you need not only to enter them, but also to exit them," he says.

[angelosand]

Germany 🇩🇪 will send to Ukraine 🇺🇦 two patriot systems for defending Ukrainian people from russian bombing.

Thank you very much Merz 🇩🇪 🙏 ❤️

Thank you very much Germany 🇩🇪 🙏 ❤️

[antipoliticsde]