Questions for our German Friends

[Roubignol]

Switzerland is hugely influenced by Germany, a lot more than by France.

As German cousins and defenders of the federalism, how do you look at the Swiss direct democracy?

Don't you think that you let too much authority in the hand of your "elites"?
Do you have the same problems as in France, where corrupted politicians always come back by the windows?

[Puhbear69]

Originally Posted by palo5

Even if you don't like him, he's right, imho. You can do more when you're in power than when you're not. But the main point is that the country needs a government, and it's unlikely to get a better choice if it has another election. So go for it!

The country needs a government, we are common in that point.

And yes, I do not only don't like him, I deeply hate him - this liar !

But:
- have you read the coalition-contract, the party executive wants to sell to it's members ?

[Brecht]

The German social democrats are slowly descending into irrelevance. Should they become part of the next government with the CDU, they may face their political death like the Greens in Austria. There are already signs that the AfD could outrun the SPD in the next elections. The SPD needs someone like Jeremy Corbyn or Mélenchon if it wants to return to a path of credibility. Oskar Lafontaine has called for the formation of a United Left but is vilified by the current leaders of his own party Die Linke just like his wife, Sahra Wagenknecht.

[Puhbear69]

Originally Posted by Brecht

The German social democrats are slowly descending into irrelevance. Should they become part of the next government with the CDU, they may face their political death like the Greens in Austria. There are already signs that the AfD could outrun the SPD in the next elections. The SPD needs someone like Jeremy Corbyn or Mélenchon if it wants to return to a path of credibility. Oskar Lafontaine has called for the formation of a United Left but is vilified by the current leaders of his own party Die Linke just like his wife, Sahra Wagenknecht.

I see it just the same way you do.

From the voters point of view: as good as no voters trust the SPD any more. They got big losses to the AfD from the basic voters.

That underlines the first days of the contract negotiations, as the social-democrats proudly presented the liberation of the family renunciations for the migrants.

No word of Hartz 4, no words of the two class medicine, no word of those who aren't having a health care, no words of the social adjustments, at least the "Mother Pension" (but not with the plan to finance it) and at for some years that the pensions don't get lower as 47 % !!! of the average income.
They proudly presented six month (to not more than 1,5 years actually) less of those temporary work contracts.

Is that the policy, social-democrats should make ???

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Puhbear69

- have you read the coalition-contract, the party executive wants to sell to it's members ?

No, I was just giving a general comment

If I was a Member I'd read it. But as an outsider who doesn't live in Germany, I'd have to agree that it is "Etwas zu lang ausgefallen", and that's why I probably won't read

Thanks for the link, btw

[Puhbear69]

Originally Posted by palo5

No, I was just giving a general comment

If I was a Member I'd read it. But as an outsider who doesn't live in Germany, I'd have to agree with the observation that it is "Etwas zu lang ausgefallen", and that's why I probably won't read

Thanks for the link, btw

Yes the link was important I thought, because that everybody has the chance of information and not blathering.

"Etwas zu lang ausgefallen":
That's the point and the danger at the same time. If no one or less of the members read it with the same intention you having, than the seed is growing.

If you read it with sanity, you will find with many words hidden a lot of: if's, could's, whant's, or should's. Or in one word : abstract ! ... or moved to the future.

@'xyzde69'
Remind me of your question in case of Switzerland and France, I don't wanna open a new topic inside this actual discussion.

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by xyzde69

S
As German cousins and defenders of the federalism, how do you look at the Swiss direct democracy?

I like it and i wish we had it here too.

[Puhbear69]

Originally Posted by Brecht

The German social democrats are slowly descending into irrelevance. Should they become part of the next government with the CDU, they may face their political death like the Greens in Austria. There are already signs that the AfD could outrun the SPD in the next elections. The SPD needs someone like Jeremy Corbyn or Mélenchon if it wants to return to a path of credibility. Oskar Lafontaine has called for the formation of a United Left but is vilified by the current leaders of his own party Die Linke just like his wife, Sahra Wagenknecht.

At the moment there is big controversy between the Neo-Liberal Right (the so called Seeheimer Kreis) and the Left Wing of the party. It has never been so open controversy in the past.

My personal opinion: the Neo-Liberal Wing overstretched the social democracy since Gerhard Schroeder with it's Neo-Liberalism and forced them to leave the Social-Democrats. Since Schroeder (and the damaging/destroying of the German social system) about 500.000 Members left the Social democrats.
In the same way many of their voters are getting frustrated and turned off.

The policy of "The Rhombus" (= Angela Merkel) turned the CDU into a left direction to weaken the SPD and make some of the policy of the SPD to her own. Many of the right wing voters turned off of the CDU too.



She seems to be a master of bogart the success of others, making it to their own. All the complain of her government and minsters are dropping of of her like a Lotus-effect .

That's the success of the AfD, because they succeeded to catch the frustrated voters of both parties. I'm sure those voters had unfortunately never read the program of the AfD.
I do not know what will be in the next election because that voters of the AfD are highly volatile ; the reasons I have explained before.

I'm a frustrated SPD voter since ~ 2000 too, but I have turned to the left.

Oskar Lafontaine is a politician I respect very much, but meanwhile he's to old to play an active role in the actual policy. I think because of the controversy of the SPD he's unfortunately to early with his call to a United Left.
Sarah Wagenknecht is contrivers seen in her own party (and in the West ) so the pendulum can swing to each side. With no doubts she is eligible, intelligent and is having good ideas, but stumbles often about her own feet in her party.

[Roubignol]

How your medias treat the consequences of a risk of shortage of fossil fuel energy supply in a recent future?

In Germany or Austria, is this question seriously taken into account by the political power?

Do you think that German people are well informed about these questions?

I can tell you that in France and in Switzerland, neither politicians nor the media do their job. They have no idea about this and if we speak about these problems, they clearly avoid to face the problems.

[palo5]

The people are not dumm. They know it is about Russian pipelines, and how the US hates them. Would be much better if we worked together and ignored the US, unless they have something sensible to say that actually helps people