Guest blogging at EUROPP: The AfD’s second place in Mecklenburg-West & the challenges facing Merkel in 2017

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The result of yesterday’s regional election in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (aka Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for the initiated or Meck-Pomm for the impatient) was not a surprise, but still a shock to many. I wrote a short article for the LSE’s EUROPP blog. Angela Merkel’s CDU came third behind the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the German Social Democrats…

Germany’s AfD does a Trump, demands blanket ban on asylum for Muslims

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In a press statement this morning, the AfD’s deputy leader Alexander Gauland (who is also head of the party’s chapter and the parliamentary party in the Eastern state of Brandenburg) has demanded a (temporary) ban on Muslims seeking refuge in Germany “until all asylum seekers in Germany have been registered, checked upon, and have their…

Guest Blog: Brexit (Arne Niemann)

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1st guest blog ever: Nach dem Brexit-Referendum bringen alle denkbaren Modelle für eine Neuregelung der Beziehungen zwischen Großbritannien und der Europäischen Union Nachteile: für Deutschland, für die EU – und besonders für Großbritannien selbst. Ein Verbleib Großbritanniens im Europäischen Wirtschaftraum (auch als „norwegisches Modell“ bezeichnet) wäre dabei für alle Beteiligten höchstwahrscheinlich mit den geringsten ökonomischen…

Interview mit dem Handelsblatt zur AfD und zum Brexit

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Das Handelsblatt hat ein langes Stück zur Reaktion der AfD auf das Brexit-Referendum. Mit dabei: Meine Argumente dafür, daß das Referendum der AfD nicht nutzt. [contentcards url="http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/brexit-referendum/brexit-news/alternative-fuer-deutschland-brexit-chaos-in-der-afd/13792100.html"]

Brexit : What I learned from watching BBC News for 48 hours straight

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So Britain has voted for Leave. The BBC is providing coverage 24/7. And the most amazing thing? To me,  it is the deafening silence from the Conservative leadership and the Leave campaign.
The country has just held what might be the most important vote in a generation or more. Britain is divided against itself in all sorts of ways. The rest of Europe is jumping up and down excitedly. Foreign ministers and PMs across the continent try to calm down the markets and their people.
Meanwhile in Britain, there is zilch political leadership. No one is outlining any sort of plan. Boris,  the man who has supposedly won the campaign, has not been seen or heard since Friday morning. Cameron is doing business as usual, inspecting the armed forces. The rest of them probably had plans for the weekend, as opposed to plans for carrying out Brexit. For the outsider, it looks once more like bloody amateur night in British politics – a night that might last all summer.

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Links I liked: German Presidency, the AfD makes a silly mistake, and the 1975 Europe referendum

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Germany’s president is not going to seek a second term. An article in the Economist explains why this matters The AfD is using stockphotos to illustrate its nativist message. The models are actually … Romanians There was another Brexit referendum 41 years ago. Here are some wonderful vintage photos. [contentcards url="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/05/do-you-remember-first-time-readers-1975-europe-referendum"]

Political Interest Props Up Partisanship in Wales, Scotland, and England

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Privately, I have referred to this piece as The Un-Dead Article, the Paper That Is Never Going Be Published, The Cursed Manuscript, or simply as It-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named. But you know, it’s the problem child we love the most. So: Our article “Political interest furthers partisanship in England, Scotland, and Wales” is finally out! If you don’t…