#GERMANY: Gov't Collapses After fFinance Min. Fired

[world politics news]

The ruling German coalition has collapsed: Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats (SPD) has sacked Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Liberals (FDP), saying. Lindner "has broken my trust too many times."

The leaders of what is known in Germany as the "traffic light coalition" - SPD, FDP and the Greens - had gathered at the chancellery in Berlin in the evening.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Gov't to Help Rescue Troubled Cruise Ship Builder

[world politics news]

Germany's government will help rescue a major German shipyard that has solid orders for new cruise ships but has run into financial difficulty, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday.

Meyer Werft employs more than 3,000 people in Papenburg on the Ems river in northwestern Germany, near the Dutch border. The company has built 58 cruise ships so far, according to its website.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#EU: Far-Right Parties In Turmoil Ahead of EU Elections

[world politics news]

Infighting among some of Europe’s most prominent far-right parties has thrown pre-election campaigning into turmoil, threatening to tarnish a parliamentary vote that was supposed to see the ultra-conservative groups make major gains.

France's Marine Le Pen on Wednesday said her National Rally, or RN, would break ties with the Alternative for Germany after the AfD’s lead candidate, Maximilian Krah. said that not all members of the Nazi SS paramilitary organization were criminals.

In a further blow to the embattled German party, the Identity and Democracy alliance in the European Parliament, which includes RN, expelled the AfD after a vote among its members, ID said in a Thursday statement on the social media site X.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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GERMANY: Right-Leaning Party Leader Found Guilty of Sedition After Citing Gov't Stats on Afghan Rapes

[world politics news]

 

The Verden regional court confirms a judgment against Rotenburg  district Alternative for Germany leader Marie-Thérèse Kaiser. She was found guilty of sedition because she is said to have stirred up hatred against Afghan local staff.

Although judge Heiko Halbfas did not accept the defense’s request to call Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to the witness stand, it took almost seven hours on Monday until he announced the verdict: Rotenburg AfD district leader Marie-Thérèse Kaiser has was guilty of incitement when she linked Afghan local Bundeswehr staff to gang rape in a social media post almost three years ago.

“Anyone who attacks human dignity cannot invoke freedom of expression.” said Halbfas. 

Kaiser warned of “culturally alien masses”

In August 2021, a few weeks before the federal election, Kaiser wrote on a so-called tile on her social media accounts: “Afghanistan refugees; Hamburg SPD mayor for ‘unbureaucratic’ admission; Welcoming culture for gang rape?”

[FULL STORY HERE] (in German)

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GERMANY: Parliament Passes Law Making Gender, Name Changes On Official Docs Easier

[world politics news]

German lawmakers on Friday approved legislation that will make it easier for transgender, intersex and nonbinary people to change their name and gender in official records.

The “self-determination law,” one of several social reforms that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Left-leaning coalition government pledged when it took office in late 2021, is set to take effect on Nov. 1.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Russian Election "Not Legitimate;" Putin May Be Refered to As "Governor" of Russia

[world politics news]

The German government does not recognize the legitimacy of the Russian presidential election, German government’s spokesperson Christiane Hoffman has said.

“At the moment we don’t have a dialogue with Vladimir Putin, so it’s not a question right now,” she said, answering the question of how the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany intend to call Putin by title – “president or governor”.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GERMANY: Parliament Committees Hearing Marajuana Bill

[world politics news]

At least eight parliamentary committees in Germany are set to take up a bill to legalize marijuana this week, setting the stage for expected votes on final passage on the floor of the Bundestag on Friday.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GERMANY: Parliament Approves Dual Citizenship

[world politics news]

German lawmakers have voted in favor of changing the law, which would open up the possibility of dual citizenship to swaths of the population. The bill would also reduce the time needed to qualify for naturalization.

Parliament voted 382-234 for the plan put forward by center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socially liberal coalition, with 23 lawmakers abstaining. The main center-right opposition bloc criticized the project vehemently, arguing that it would cheapen German citizenship.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Legislator Charged For Giving War-Era Chant At Frat House

[world politics news]

A regional legislator with the right-leaning Alternative for Germany Party was arrested on Monday on charges including displaying forbidden totalitarian symbols, with neighbours of his fraternity complaining of often hearing the Nazi "Sieg Heil" victory salute.

Newly elected Daniel Halemba, 22, was due to take up his seat in the Bavarian regional parliament later on Monday. He is a member of the Teutonia Prague student fraternity, whose premises were raided by police in September.

During the raid, officials said, they found forbidden symbols - Germany's constitution forbids the display of symbols of totalitarian regimes like the swastika - and neighbours complained of hearing "Sieg Heil" (Hail Victory) from inside.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GERMANY: Greens Suffer Worst Defeat In 20 Years In Regional Elections

[world politics news]

Germany’s Green party suffered its worst electoral defeat in a regional election since teaming up with the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Free Liberals (FDP) in a nationwide coalition in Berlin in 2021.

Support for the party in the city state of Bremen fell to the lowest level in more than 20 years, according to exit polls.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Politician On Trial For Using Nazi Slogan At Rally

[world politics news]

Germany (AfD) party in the state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, will face trial for his alleged use of a banned Nazi slogan.

The use of Nazi symbols or propaganda outside educational and historical contexts is banned in Germany.

It is alleged that Höcke knowingly used a motto of the SA, the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, at a speech in May 2021.

The accusation is that he ended his speech with the phrase "Everything for Germany," knowing that this phrase was forbidden as one often used by the SA.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Cabinet Approves Recreational Marijuana Use

[world politics news]

Germany's cabinet voted through plans Wednesday to legalize possession of cannabis as well as community cultivation clubs to serve local communities, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced.

Presenting his plans to reporters in Berlin, Lauterbach said the law should be passed by the Bundestag after the summer recess and come into force as early as the beginning of 2024. He said he does not expect any major changes from parliament.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Bill Would Shrink Bloated Parliament

[world politics news]

Germany’s parliament is bulging at the seams — and the coalition government wants to put it on a diet.

A new draft law would fix the number of lawmakers in the Bundestag at 630 (down from the current 736.)

“If we don’t change anything, the Bundestag will continue to grow,” Green Party lawmaker Till Steffen told journalists in Berlin. “We want to safeguard the parliament’s ability to act.”

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Russian Withdrawal Is Only Basis For Ukraine Peace Talks

[world politics news]

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the onus for ending the war in Ukraine remains on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“To my view, it is necessary that Putin understands that he will not succeed with his invasion and his imperialistic aggression and that he has to withdraw troops. This is the basis for talks,” he said in an interview that aired Sunday.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Chancellor Approves Tanks For Ukraine

[world politics news]

Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed on Wednesday that Germany would be delivering an initial 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks to Ukraine and allowing partner countries to re-export their own German-made heavy battle tanks to the country.

Speaking at the start of a question-and-answer session in the German Bundestag, Scholz said, "It is right that we act closely with our international partners to support Ukraine — financially, with humanitarian aid, but also with weapons deliveries. Now we can say that, in Europe, it is us and Britain who have made the most weapons available for Ukraine. … Germany will always be at the forefront when it comes to supporting Ukraine."  

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Govt Suspends Business Incentives For Iran Trade

[world politics news]

Germany's government is suspending state measures designed to foster business with Iran due to the repression of nationwide protests in the Islamic Republic, the economy ministry said on Friday.

The suspension will affect export credits and investment guarantees as well as Germany's manager training and trade fair programs in Iran, the ministry said.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Lawmakers Delay Nuke Plant Shutdown Until April

[world politics news]

German lawmakers on Friday voted to postpone the shutdown of the country's remaining three nuclear power plants until mid-April 2023, citing the need to keep up energy generation and guarantee supply security.

The three plants--named Emsland, Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2--are remaining in operation for three and a half more months than originally planned due to the crisis spurred by the war in Ukraine, the government said.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Parliament Votes To Increase Defense Spending For Ukraine

[world politics news]

Two factions of the German Parliament are ready to support an increase in defense aid funding for Ukraine next year to more than 2 billion euros.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal wrote about this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

"The German parliament is united in its support for Ukraine. Today, they held meetings with the Vice-President of the Bundestag with the Union90/Greens faction Katrin Goering-Eckardt and co-chair of the Union90/Greens party Ricarda Lang, as well as with the head of the opposition CDU, chair of the CDU/CSU faction in Bundestag Friedrich Merz," Shmyhal noted.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Legislature To Take Up Dual Citizenship Law in 2023

[world politics news]

People in Germany looking to naturalize as German and keep their other citizenship now have a date for when the Bundestag will consider their situation: before Christmas.

“Immigrants who want to stay in Germany permanently should be given the opportunity to take part and contribute fully with naturalization. The modernization of the Citizenship Act is intended to create the right framework for this,” a federal Interior Ministry spokeswoman told The Local. “Multiple citizenship should generally be permitted. For naturalization, it will therefore no longer be necessary to give up your previous citizenship.”

According to the Ministry, the new law will also shorten the time someone has to live in Germany before they’re eligible for citizenship through naturalization. People who demonstrate evidence of integration in German society will also have a shorter wait time for naturalization, as an incentive.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#EU: Ten EU Member States Sold Arms To Russia, Dodging Embargo

[world politics news]

France, Germany and Italy side-stepped an arms embargo to sell weapons to Vladimir Putin that are being used to slaughter Ukrainians, it's been alleged.

It has emerged that ten member states of the European Union sold hundreds of millions of pounds of military hardware to Russia between 2015 and 2020.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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