by Peter Löcke //
"Our democracy is strong, but we have to take it back now."
No. That was not a spontaneous sentence. It was not a drunken statement made at an election party after five glasses of Prosecco. In these words, Emily Büning, the federal managing director of the Green Party, made a sober and combative statement in front of TV cameras. On Monday, one day after the elections in Bavaria and Hesse. I've been confused ever since. After all, Katha Schulze, the Greens' top candidate, loudly demanded Hubert Aiwanger's resignation because he made almost identical comments weeks ago. So which party does this democracy belong to? Is it stable or fragile? It still seemed stable on Sunday. At least in Bavaria.
Stable was the word for Sunday in Bavaria. Markus Söder was delighted with a stable election victory after the worst CSU result ever. The graceful leader of the Greens, Ricarda Lang, was delighted with a stable election result despite heavy losses. Hubert Aiwanger was also pleased with the stable gains made by his Free Voters. In addition, the right-wing populist Hubsi positioned himself alongside the right-wing populist Markus as a firewall against the actual right and the actual election winner AfD. Surprisingly, all parties agree that the AfD must be fought together. Only to then blame each other for the AfD gaining further strength. The Social Democrats with their lead candidate Florian von Brunn are of course among the fighters against the right. The SPD, the people's party, confidently passed the 5 percent hurdle. Nevertheless, there are rumblings among the comrades. Rumor has it that the first consequence will be to end the non-existent media partnership with Süddeutsche Zeitung. Such partnerships are often described in business plans as "non-cash reciprocal benefits". Presumably not here, as there is no partnership. Enough about Bavaria. From wheat beer to Äpplewoi. Off to Hesse, because the keen fan of the political Bundesliga was offered a conference call.
Boris Rhein from the CDU was the shining winner of the elections in Hesse. He can now decide whether to form a coalition with the red-green or green-green parties. What is the secret of Boris Rhein's success? I confess that I don't really know. So I spontaneously stretched my feet and asked this question to oncoming evening walkers. The unanimous answer during my field research was "Never heard of him. Boris who?". An elderly gentleman with a dog did ask who Boris Rhein was. I answered truthfully, "That's Nancy Faeser's opponent." After that, my conversation partner thought Boris was really good. To be fair, it should be mentioned that my voter survey took place in distant NRW and is not representative. Otherwise, the Hesse election was similar to the Bavarian election. Except for one minor detail - an unknown party called the FDP, which failed to clear the three percent hurdle in Bavaria, surprisingly made it into the state parliament.
As I was not entirely convinced by the old dog owner's analysis, I listened to the real experts at the end of the day and election evening. On to Anne Will. There, Robin Alexander, editor-in-chief of WELT, surprised me by criticizing whether everything outside of the red-green party should now be placed in the far-right corner. Robin used to work for the taz. The taz paints the blue AfD bar brown, so it's not suspected of being a conservative paper. Robin Alexander's provocation left Anne Will's mouth half-open and Saskia Esken's mouth wide open. Ms. Esken believes that citizens are overwhelmed and tired of change and that migration is not really an issue that concerns people. Remember: there are different rooms within an ivory tower. The part in which Ms. Kafka Esken is staying has neither windows nor an internet connection.
So how strong is our democracy really? Who does it belong to? Is it present or lost, is it stable or fragile? The German chancellor without red lines has now confirmed that he wants to fight for this democracy. I find that commendable. The plans of the Greens are less praiseworthy. They have now drawn up an "emergency plan to protect democracy". This has been forwarded to all other democratic parties. All parties except the AfD. The AfD must continue to be marginalized because it marginalizes. The AfD must not be tolerated because it is intolerant. If necessary, the AfD must be fought with undemocratic means because it is an undemocratic party. You find that contradictory? Me too. And I'm writing this as a former SPD voter and current member of the NWP, Germany's non-voter party.
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18 Responses
It's not nice to make fun of the stature of the Green Party chairwoman.....ans I've also been wondering for some time now that the "good guys" are doing exactly what they accuse the AfD of doing, namely marginalizing people.
"The graceful chairwoman of the Greens" is an appropriately ironic and successful formulation in my opinion. And I confidently assume that someone like Markus Fiedler, for example, would have enough self-awareness and irony to possibly even be amused by it himself - but this is something that the short Ms. Lang completely lacks. That alone is the problem. However, glacé gloves are inappropriate in this region of politics.
Dear Mrs. Bock!
Sorry...
Hope this was really just a bit of a bad joke... -:)
This would be the very worst
Decision.
Because every vote that is not cast
supports the German
existing old parties in all their
fascist tendencies and all
their networks and benefices.
And this does not have to be the case...
Must not be...!
Lucy
Dear Lucy, no, I'm not joking, not at all. I'm taking a wait-and-see approach and I don't want to support the whole system any more. Because I think it doesn't really matter where I put my cross. How else did the snobs now in office get into office? Nobody, at least that's the basic tenor, yes I didn't vote for them!!! Yes, neither did I. I voted for the AFD. And did it do any good? Not at all, an opposition that doesn't even defend itself against electoral fraud? And also takes its sinecure in the Bundestag? Ok, I recognize a lot of what the AFD has initiated. Most recently the Corona Symposium, which they initiated. But I still have legitimate doubts. Some are black rockers, others are Goldmann Sachs.
I prefer to stick with Dr. Markus Krall. And let's see what else comes out of the Atlas Initiative.
Have a nice Sunday
As a non-voter, you remain silent, and those who remain silent agree. (Not mine, but true!) Without actively trying to do something, you are part of the silent majority that cannot change anything. At least not in the elections. Perhaps at other levels.
The AFD is a democratically elected party and it is kept out of all democratic decisions or bypassed. Is this an attitude that the "democratic parties" can be proud of?
I read the well-written article and then immediately returned to its central stumbling block (not fabricated by the author), which triggered an involuntary nausea when I read it because of the underhanded wording.
The introductory quote from the Green expert for ideological battle slogans is quite something.
So democracy is strong? Perhaps so, the increased voter turnout in Bavaria would speak for it, the evaluation of first-time voters and the directly tangible slap on the wrist for the political henchmen of the traffic lights might also point in this direction. Perhaps it is only being described here as strong because the discourse of opinion is already to some extent under left-green control and they want to keep the already loyal citizens on board and make them ready to fight for future actions to effectively destroy the opposition.
The election result merely shows me that not all voters have yet been brainwashed by the mainstream media (as the red-green ideologues would like). The quote addresses the far more numerous citizens than the few government critics, the "Nazis and lateral thinkers" labeled by the left-green ideologues, who are constantly to be expelled from the real discourse by the party-political strategists of the narrow ideological discourse one-way street, as they stand in the way of the unified discourse.
Too many citizens who still vote the "wrong way" are actually still or again able to compare the real living conditions in the country to some extent with the propaganda of the system media. Too many citizens have still skipped the high mass of the Tagesschau, refused the political talk shows and no longer seem to fall for the high priests of ÖRR propaganda as desired.
And this is exactly where the second part of the snotty opening quote comes in.
A strong democracy is characterized by diversity of opinion, freedom of expression, a wide range of information, open discourse, inalienable fundamental rights, an independent judiciary and much more. It does not have to be conquered by the parties, because that is what we want as free citizens. Rather, it must be conquered by us against the parties.
My current conclusion is that we by no means have a strong democracy. Democracy in this country has just not yet completely run out of steam in the stranglehold of the parties and it seems possible that even more citizens will wake up.
And this is precisely what bothers the red-green totalitarian ideologues, who cook their own soup under the most benevolent and entirely self-serving toleration of formerly conservative and liberal parties.
The green "expert" quoted thus refers to the discourse space that must be totally dominated. She is talking about transforming democracy into a left-green totalitarian system in which elections are then held in accordance with the regime and the left-green climate ideology. I recommend that this functionary and her spies seek professional advice from the heirs of the Mauermörderpartei: The GDR had the electoral system that the left-green climate Stalinists want.
Otherwise AfD back and forth:
At the moment, elections are not about changing the course of politics, they are about preventing or slowing down or obstructing the catastrophe into which the conglomerate of traffic lights and wellness opposition is steering our country. So I am voting for a party that does not support this destructive course within an electoral system that I reject, but which unfortunately exists in reality. As much sand as possible must be thrown into the gears of the country's destroyers so that a change of course can take place in the long term (if it is still possible). At the moment, the elections are about casting a vote that weakens, annoys and exposes the system policy. Another effect of voting for the AfD should not be underestimated.
The reaction of the old parties, who regard this country as their property, exposes these political associations as the very hostage-takers of this state who do not want to loosen their stranglehold on the political system of the gigantic self-service store that is Germany. There is a chance that more and more people will realize who their enemies are. The bigwigs of the old parties fear for their sinecures if more and more citizens wake up. It's worth voting for AfD for that reason alone, because this party is more than just an annoying tick for the old parties. By the way, for me, not voting means letting the old parties and left-wing ideologues continue unharmed. They are happy about every vote not cast by dissatisfied citizens, as the votes cast for them in support of their party and system then carry more weight (a very simple calculation).
Is it not the case that by voting I am recognizing the existing system? There are wretched distortions in this system. Here is just one example: through the system of party lists and second votes, candidates are sure to get into parliament even if they didn't get a single vote. I don't even want to write about the possibilities of electoral fraud as a result of postal voting.
Chapeau! Everything that needs to be said has been said.
Sun., 15.10.2023
Dear Mr. Löcke,
a "but" covers up and conceals, all too
often, what was said before.
Anyone who listens attentively to this in communication will see it confirmed.
The sentence means:
Our democracy is strong: NO.
There is nothing more to say.
Nevertheless, have a nice Sunday!
Lucy
PS:
There is also a "but", as it were, very often,
simply nir the negation and negation
of that previously communicated.
Watch it... -:)
When reading the newspaper, in politics, in talk shows anyway, and of course also in numerous everyday conversations etc..
Please, dear readers, never let a little "but" put you off.
In any situation...
What do you expect? Who or what is the "sole solution"? This sole solution never exists, so why expect it from the AfD?
The AfD is the only active opposition party worthy of the name. Anyone who rejects green politics - with all its excesses - cannot vote for the CDU, because they want to get into bed with the Greens just as much. After all the weighing up, the only real option is to vote for the AfD - or to cast an invalid vote. Corona measures, energy policy, migration, mobility, housing, freedom of expression, "climate" policy, nepotism, division,
Lack of education, moralism..... what have these nature and landscape destroyers created for our country? Nothing good!!!
Very well analyzed,
100 percent approval
Have a nice Sunday
There is more left!
Z. For example, join the AfD and steer the party in the direction you want by being active. This is how a strong democracy works. Not voting is cowardly, arrogant and all non-voters can do is grumble, see article.
That's right, we are fighting fascism with fascist methods. After all, the end justifies the means. Very good article, I will also be a member of the party of non-voters in future:-)
It's really difficult. In middle age, I was unapologetically green. Then I started to have doubts because of the many green contradictions. Left was too left for me and right, i.e. really right (NPD) was out of the question. So liberal-democratic, but they once brought down Helmut Schmidt, the party that fell over. Yes, as a Christian, a C party is best. But without Merkel and Söder! Wicked, it's really difficult.
Well then, AFD as a protest. I also read election programs, and with each page I had more doubts that this was the right one.
There was still something unknown - "the base" - but apart from corona protests, there wasn't much tangible.
So NWP after all. But I'm also doing something wrong. It's really difficult. Now I also know why people vote for Boris Rhein, you're not doing anything wrong because you don't know what he does.
What do you specifically dislike about the federal AfD program? (For me it was the best thing about the party, the statements of some B functionaries there less so).
Another excellent contribution from the esteemed Peter Löcke. In this country, parties are crying out for democracy, which they themselves are doing everything in their power to eliminate. Obviously, they have completely forgotten the meaning of the word democracy. Never before have the people been muzzled in such an anti-democratic way and anyone who questions something is beaten to death with a Nazi club. It is not the parties that have to bring democracy back, but the people must finally be aware of their power.
Non-voter party is good, I belong there too. Don't support this rotten system! Yes, the exclusion of the AFD sucks, but you should still take a close look at what you put in your shopping cart, because whose bread I eat whose song I sing. I don't see the AFD as undemocratic, not at all. But they are part of the problem and not the only solution.