#GERMANY: Social Democratic Party Youth Leader: Nationalize BMW, Take Its Profits, "Overcome Capitalism"

[world politics news]

The leadership of Germany's center-left government party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has distanced itself from the leader of its own youth movement, Kevin Kühnert, after he called for major German companies like BMW to be nationalized.

"Without collectivization overcoming capitalism is unthinkable," the 29-year-old Kühnert told Die Zeit weekly. Kühnert, who heads the "Jusos," or Young Socialists, said that distribution of BMW's profits should be democratically controlled, which meant there could be no "capitalist owner" of the company.

Kühnert also called for an end to property ownership as a business model. His remarks prompted one SPD leader to ask, "What was he smoking? It can't have been legal." And a member of parliament to decry his remarks as "scaring off voters."

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#GERMANY: Merkel Gets Renewed Coalition With Social Democrats, But Is Greatly Weakened

[world politics news]

Social Democrats have agreed to another "loveless" coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel, ending four months of horse-trading and gridlock in Germany, after two minor parties refused to work with her during a fourth term, which she won in October. Sixty-six percent of the Social Democrats, in a mail-in ballot, supported the coalition. They had their worst showing at the polls last year since the Second World War. The SPD's youth chief Kevin Kühnert, ran an impassioned campaign against the planned coalition, forcing the party membership to vote, and saying he wouldn't withhold criticism.

[FULL STORY HERE]