Politics

Этот тревожный новый мир Германии

Sep 26, 2017 Joschka Fischer

БЕРЛИН – Итоги воскресных федеральных выборов в Германии оказались неожиданными и тревожными, по крайней мере, по немецким стандартам. После четырёх лет правления в составе большой коалиции под руководством канцлера Ангелы Меркель два главные партии страны – Социал-демократы (СДП) и Христианско-демократический союз (ХДС), вместе с родственной ему баварской партией Христианско-социальный союз (ХСС), – были наказаны на избирательных участках.

СДП показала худший результат на федеральных выборах с момента проведения первых выборов в Федеративной республике в 1949 году. А у альянса ХДС/ХСС, начиная с 1949 года, результат был хуже лишь однажды, при этом ХСС понёс рекордные потери на федеральных выборах в своей истории. И это важно, потому что в следующем году в Баварии пройдут региональные выборы.

В целом, эти выборы стали провалом для большой коалиции Меркель. И в значительной мере речь идёт о протестном голосовании против самой Меркель. В мире её ценят как эффективного государственного деятеля, гаранта стабильности и морального авторитета Запада. Но на её родине это уже больше не так.

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Germany’s Crisis of Complacency
Tobias Schwarz/Getty Images

Longer Reads 11

Germany’s Crisis of Complacency

Helmut K. Anheier
The government that emerges from the federal election on September 24 is likely to look – and act – like the previous three. The president of the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin considers the domestic and international risks implied by Germany’s staunch resistance to change.
considers the domestic and international risks implied by Germany’s staunch resistance to change.
Redefining Europe, and Europeans
John Macdougall/Getty Images

Politics 7

Redefining Europe, and Europeans

Carl Bildt
Germany’s federal election next Sunday will play a crucial role in determining the European Union’s direction in the coming years. In a rapidly changing world, Europe's citizens will have to look beyond the nation-state as their sole source of personal identity – and Germany can lead the way.
hopes the continent's people and leaders will heed the right lessons from the 2015 refugee crisis.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 4 Comments on this article

John Leontop Oct 1, 2017

Angela Merkel should leave. She suffers from denial of reality.
For all with a rudimentary command of the German language please refer to the commentary of the Basler Zeitung:
https://bazonline.ch/ausland/europa/sie-saete-wind-und-erntete-sturm/story/17301936
Please Mr. Fischer comment.
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Pete Voegeli Sep 29, 2017

The Greens being part of German government may help to shift German industry that has been too protected so far. After Dieselgate, welcome to Green influence!
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j. von Hettlingen Sep 27, 2017

In order to prevent the far-right party, the AfD from gaining strength and "doing irreparable damage" to Germany, Joschka Fischer urges the remaining parties to put aside their partisan differences and rally behind Angela Merkel. Germany's "democratic values" and Europe's future are at stake. A failure to form a stable coalition government would "probably spell the end of her chancellorship. And, more broadly, it could usher in a new period of political chaos."
As the Social Democrats (SPD) have refused to rejoin the grand coalition it had with Merkel, she has no choice but to look for other partners. Observers say there is a viable option - Jamaica. It is an alliance that is named after the colours of the three parties - the CDU/CSU, the Free Democrats and the Greens - which match the black, yellow and green of the Jamaican flag. But the three "differ markedly in governing mentality and leadership style."
In an interview not long ago, Christian Lindner, leader of the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), distanced himself from a possible coalition with Merkel’s conservatives and the Greens after the Sept. 24 election. He saw big hurdles to reaching agreement with the Greens on immigration and energy policies. Critics doubt whether a "Jamaica" coalition could work, given the significant differences between the parties. Besides, such an alliance has never been tested on the federal level.
Although the environmentalist Greens are eager to return to power after 12 years in opposition, they have a problem with the not so eco-friendly FDP, which they see as an antithesis of everything they stand for. They accuse the Free Democrats of denying climate change and shunning social issues etc. However they admit they are open to joining a coalition led by Merkel - a departure from their refusal four years ago - thanks to her overtures to their party.
It's most likely that the two leaders - both are said to belong to the party’s pragmatist wing - do not rule out the idea of joining forces. The Greens had said they were willing to negotiate with all parties except for the AfD. Another scenario would be a "red, red, green" coalition, that makes up of the SPD, the Left and the Greens. Sahra Wagenknecht, head of the radical Left party, signaled her willingness to deal with the SPD to make it happen. But it would be a minority government.
The author says these parties have a "responsibility to get behind Merkel, and to compromise as necessary to form a government. Their leaders, one hopes, will be smart enough to work together in good faith, rather than seeking only narrow partisan advantage." To start with, they need to address some pressing issues, "by making security, economic reform, and ecological and digital modernization the three pillars of a new kind of coalition."
Indeed, Angela Merkel's acumen and skills are now put to the test. She has realised the mistakes she has made and vowed to correct them - to win back the voters who have flocked to the AfD. Alone its adherents' ideology harks back to the Nazi era. Many Germans don't feel that such a political party has a place in their parliament, because they don't want history to repeat itself. It remains to be seen, how Merkel is going to form a viable government and steer the country through trobled waters.
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Steve Hurst Sep 26, 2017

Think this is called wanting to live in the past; well not too far back in the past; but just enough back to be comfortable, sort of a perpetual 2014
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Этот тревожный новый мир Германии

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