Only 18% of Germans believe country on right track – poll
Destatis president Ruth Brand cited among the key reasons “increasing competition for the German export industry on key sales markets, high energy costs [and] an interest rate level that remains high.”
In an interview with the newly launched RT Balkan TV in late December, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova argued that cooperation with Russia had been “one of the factors for Germany’s economic growth.”
However, due to US pressure, this mutually beneficial partnership was severed, resulting in the German economy “crumbling,” she stated.
As a result, “German companies have begun relocating to other countries, where it’s more viable for them to do business,” Zakharova said.
In spite of the fact that the vast majority of Germans believe the country is off track on so many levels, a group of MPs are arguing that any party that wants to change anything in Germany should be banned. And I used to think Germans were smart people.
German parliament to consider banning top opposition party
– Die Zeit
The German parliament could begin discussing a motion calling for a ban on the right-wing Alternative for Germany party next week, Die Zeit has reported, citing the cross-party group of MPs behind the move. The lawmakers insist that the AfD’s agenda runs counter to the German constitution and poses a threat to the democracy in the country.
There are so many other threats to democracy in Germany that the mainstream parties are completely ignoring, or, in fact, are promoting.
The party, which was established in 2013, is currently polling around 20%, ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) at 16% and behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on 31%.
Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, designated the AfD as a “suspected” extremist organization back in 2021 over its stance on immigration.
The 113-strong group of MPs, composed mostly of Die Linke/Green Party members as well as 31 SPD representatives and six from the CDU, proposed the motion in November. According to Die Zeit on Monday, the lawmakers hope to secure support from the Bundestag for the initiation of ban proceedings against the AfD in the Federal Constitutional Court.
The group claims that the right-wing party has called into question the human dignity of migrants and LGBTQ individuals, with one of the MPs behind the motion, the CDU’s Marco Wanderwitz, calling for swift action against the AfD in light of the party’s supposed “further radicalization.”
A survey conducted in December by the INSA polling institute for Bild indicated that the AfD’s co-leader Alice Weidel was ahead of her rivals in the race to become the next chancellor, enjoying the support of 24% of respondents.
However, even if the AfD were to emerge as the largest party after the snap election on February 23, all of Germany’s mainstream parties have ruled out entering a coalition with the right-wing group, making their ascent to power highly unlikely.
Now this is an attack on democracy! Completely ignoring almost 20% of the population.
After being officially nominated as the first candidate for chancellor in the AfD’s history earlier this month, Weidel vowed to put the sabotaged Nord Stream gas pipelines back into operation, should her party emerge victorious. She also promised to implement harsh immigration policies and scrap green initiatives.
Sounds a lot like what is happening in Washington today.
Last month, the 45-year-old politician also opposed the continued supply of military aid to Ukraine.
Around the same time, AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla argued that Germany needed to consider “to what extent [NATO] is still useful for us.”
The right-wing party has also suggested holding a referendum on exiting the European Union and the Eurozone.
If anything, such proposals would restore some sovereignty to Berlin that has been removed by Brussels and NATO. Although, perhaps left-wing MPs don't trust themselves with that kind of power.
Orban declares ‘second phase’ of offensive on Brussels
The inauguration of US President Donald Trump has created new opportunities to replace the pseudo-capitalist, power-hungry bureaucrats in Brussels, according to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He has argued that the EU needs sensible people in charge to acknowledge the ongoing transition to a new world order.
Speaking in Budapest on Monday hours before Trump was sworn in in Washington, DC, the conservative politician said that soon “the sun will shine differently over Brussels,” before reiterating his criticisms of EU policies.
While a patriotic government is assuming power in the US, Brussels remains “under occupation by a left-wing, transatlantic oligarchy,” the prime minister lamented. He dismissed allegations that his government has been backtracking on democracy and the rule of law as attacks orchestrated “by the liberal united front financed by George Soros.” Orban has previously accused the Hungarian-born billionaire of interfering with politics in the EU.
And not just the EU, but America, as well.
The balance of economic power is tilting towards Asia, and nations in Europe need to adapt, Orban said. But Brussels and liberal-minded politicians have ignored the changes and undermined EU members with “woke capitalism” that fixates on ideological goals at the cost of competitiveness, Orban claimed.
Orban’s Fidesz political party is part of a new Patriots for Europe coalition that challenged the centrists during last year’s European Parliament election. The alliance emerged as the third-largest in the EU legislature, after the EPP Group, led by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (P&S).
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