The overview in short reports on developments, results and assessments relating to German politics:
Wagenknecht party in survey at 7 percent
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) could expect 7 percent of the vote in a federal election. In the Sunday trend, which the polling institute Insa collects weekly for Bild am Sonntag, the new party is three percentage points ahead of the FDP, which slipped below the 5 percent mark for the first time since 2015 and only reached 4 percent. The Left would also fail at the hurdle with 4 percent. The CDU/CSU can each gain one point in voter favor with 31 percent and the SPD with 14 percent. As in the previous week, the Greens got 13 percent, the AfD lost one point to 21 percent. The other parties could get 6 percent of the votes (including 2 percent from Free Voters).
CDU/Linnemann wants to abolish citizens’ money in its current form
If the CDU takes over government, the first thing it plans to do is abolish citizens’ money. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann said to Bild am Sonntag. “When we are in government, our first major reform package will be to abolish citizens’ money in its current form.” According to Linnemann, the CDU wants, among other things, to significantly tighten the sanctions for those who refuse to work. Anyone who refuses to work even though they could face harsh sanctions, said Linnemann. This includes a significant reduction in support and cash benefits as well as the reintroduction of the asset test.
SPD names Barley as top candidate for European elections
The SPD has again elected former Federal Justice Minister Katarina Barley as the top candidate for the European elections. At a party conference in Berlin on Sunday, the 55-year-old Vice President of the European Parliament received 147 of the 149 delegate votes cast. This was 98.7 percent – practically the same as the last time she was a top candidate five years ago. In her speech, Barley spoke of a “choice of direction” on June 9th. It’s about defending Europe against its internal and external enemies.
The FDP party conference names Strack-Zimmermann as the top candidate for the European elections
Defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is leading the FDP into the European elections in June. The delegates to the FDP European Party Conference chose the 65-year-old Bundestag member on Sunday in Berlin as the top candidate with 90 percent. Strack-Zimmermann is a “prominent and controversial personality” who will make the voice of liberalism heard in Europe, said FDP leader Christian Lindner. Lindner described Strack-Zimmermann as a “Eurofighter” who could stand up to the populists in Europe. “It is our declaration of war against all those who want to destroy the European community project.”
Companies demand approval of the European AI law
In view of Germany’s imminent abstention from the European AI law, an alliance of business, science and civil society has written an open letter to the federal government demanding that it still approve the project. If the AI Act is not adopted, it says, “it would be a high risk for innovation and the protection of fundamental rights in Europe with international consequences.” The letter is to be published on Sunday morning and is available to the Handelsblatt in advance.
The signatories argue that China and the USA are working on their own legal frameworks. “These rules could determine the market and the development of AI products if the EU does not reach an agreement in time.”
Wagenknecht wants to win over “politically homeless people” with his new party
BSW chairwoman Sahra Wagenknecht wants her new party to win over people disappointed by the traffic light coalition. “We are now setting out to change politics in Germany,” said Wagenknecht on Saturday at the first federal party conference of the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) party. “We do this because we sense that something is changing in our society.” There are “so many problems, uncertainty, but also indignation and anger,” said Wagenknecht in her speech to the applause of almost 400 delegates. “More and more people in our country have become politically homeless.” The “policy of sitting it out and moderating away will probably not continue,” she said to the government coalition.
Biden will receive Chancellor Scholz at the White House in February
According to the US government, US President Joe Biden will receive Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) again at the White House in just under two weeks. The talks on February 9th will focus on the situation in Ukraine and the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Saturday. In addition, both politicians wanted to coordinate with each other in the run-up to the NATO summit in Washington in July. At their meeting, Biden and Scholz wanted to “reaffirm their resolute support for the defense” of Ukraine, explained Jean-Pierre.
Economists sharply criticize the AfD’s economic program
Several German economists have criticized the AfD’s economic policy goals as absurd and dangerous. “The AfD throws populist, but too short-sighted approaches into a soup in which they swim together but do not fit together,” said the President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Moritz Schularick, to Spiegel. The head of the Munich Ifo Institute, Clemens Fuest, told the magazine that the right-wing populist AfD relies on isolation and self-sufficiency, “which destroys German competitive advantages.” This policy is “in diametric contradiction to Germany’s deep integration into the global economy.” Former economist Lars Feld warned against the AfD’s plan to return to national currencies in Europe.
Klingbeil (SPD): We have to prepare for Trump’s election victory
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has asked the federal government and the EU to prepare for a victory Donald Trump in the US presidential election in November. “It’s no use beating around the bush. Europe is facing a test,” said Klingbeil in an interview with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. “Based on what Donald Trump is saying, if he actually wins, we have to prepare for a new reality.” Klingbeil continued: “When he was elected US President for the first time, we were completely unprepared. This must not happen a second time. And that means: We Europeans must manage to ensure our security much more independently.”
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 28, 2024 08:25 ET (13:25 GMT)