German Constitutional Court Kills Electoral Threshold For European Elections
Germany’s Constitutional Court just killed the electoral threshold for European Elections. Here is the backstory, i.e. my random thoughts on the issue.
Tag: germany
The AfD and the European Election
This week, guest-blogging at the LSE’s very useful European Politics and Policy blog: Why I think that the AfD’s likely success in the 2014 European election will give them a foothold in the German system.
Germany’s AfD: What’s in a Eurosceptic Manifesto?
The AfD may be Germany’s new eurosceptic party, but their short manifesto is primarily concerned with Germany and German politics. Here is the wordle to prove it.
NPD Leadership Struggle: Welcome Back Dear Friends to the Show that Never Ends
Germany’s ultra right-wing NPD is the party that never fails to amaze. After leader Holger Apfel was forced to resign over the (alleged) harassment of ‘young comrades’ just before Christmas, his predecessor Udo Voigt made it clear that he wanted his old job back. But Udo Pastörs (what is it about this name?), who helped…
Leader of German “National Democrats” (NPD) Resigns
Holger Apfel, the leader of Germany’s right-wing extremist National Democratic Party (NPD), resigns. Apfel’s move adds to the NPD’s many woes: The NPD is very nearly bankrupt as a result of financial irregularities. Moreover, the party’s constitutionality is currently being investigated by the Federal Constitutional Court. These proceedings could result in a ban of the NPD.
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,…
Germany 1990-2011: Some Extra 700 Cases of (Attempted) Right-Wing Murder?
Federal investigators in Germany have launched a probe into 3300 unsolved cases of (attempted) murder. 746 crimes could have been committed by right-wingers for political reasons.
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.
November 9: Germany’s Modern History, All in a Day’s Work
If you are a bit like me/bone lazy/easily distracted by lots of other interesting things, you could try to cover four of the five things students will actually remember the essentials of a one semester German politics class in about three seconds by mumbling “November 9”. If you are slightly more risk adverse, you could…
Op-Ed for Quartz: “Angela Merkel’s not looking as victorious as she did a few days ago”
Angela Merkel’s triumph in the 2013 election was historic, but it came at a price. I discuss the likely impact on Europe in an opinion piece for Quartz, the Atlantic’s business news journal.