GERMANY: Changes & more – 4th Apr 2024

Hallo from BA! This is the Rorshok Germany Update from the 4th of April twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Germany.

Let’s start off this week with some changes that will be coming to Germany this month.

On Monday the first of April, cannabis was partly legalized. Efforts from conservative state governments to delay the bill failed and the cannabis law went into effect. The current legislation makes it possible for individuals to own up to three plants, carry twenty-five grams with them and become part of cannabis clubs from which they can buy weed.

In the wake of this partial legalization several other law changes, such as THC limits while driving, will come in the near future. Oddly, some states have ramped up their policing to control the new regulations, which is the opposite effect of what many were hoping for with the new law.

Another important change coming in April is the cheaper Deutschlandticket for students in all federal states. The Deutschlandticket is the successor of the very successful nine euro- Ticket. For just nine euros, people could travel across Germany using public transport —except high-speed trains —for one month. The effects of the nine-euro - Ticket were instant: Public transport was suddenly as sought after as never before. The Deutschlandticket is a continuation of this, except that it is not as affordable; it currently costs forty-nine euros per month. Some university students already had a discount on it, and now the states agreed to make the student discounts available all over the country, which would put the Deutschlandticket for students at twenty-nine euros and forty-cents.

Since we mentioned trains, Volker Wissing, the minister of transport, has announced the biggest change in the country: Punctual trains! Looking at the construction calendar of the national train network, Wissing expects that by Christmas some long-distance trains will be more punctual.

This is due to a major construction site between Frankfurt and Mannheim, an important corridor for the high-speed ICE train.

In all fairness, not all trains will suddenly start running on time.

Why is this newsworthy? Germany’s national train company, or DB, is notorious for its unreliability and unpunctuality.

Andreas Scheuer, the former minister of transport gave up his seat in parliament. The reasons aren’t completely clear, but critical voices from his own party, the conservative Christian Social Union, or CSU, have been growing louder. When Scheuer was the minister of transport he pushed for the notorious PKW toll, with PKW meaning personal car, in contrast to LKW, which refers to trucks. The toll was supposed to be only for foreigners using Germany’s road network, but eventually the European Court of Justice ruled it illegal under European law. This failed initiative ended up costing the German state millions.

More news on former officials, Hans Georg Maaßen, the former head of the Constitutional Protection Agency, Germany’s domestic secret service, is suing his former colleagues. The Constitutional Protection Agency, whose job it is to classify and observe extremists, both groups and individuals, with intentions to overthrow the constitution, has classified him as a right-wing extremist and put him under observation. On Tuesday the 2nd, he asked the court for an injunction against the agency.

He has always been known as a far-right conservative, but since he left his former position and party, the Christian Democratic Union or CDU, he has been amping up his rhetoric, spreading conspiracy theories. He also co-founded the Values Union: a right-wing party that wants to fill the gap between the right extremist Alternative for Germany, or AFD, and the conservative CDU.

Every year around Easter, demonstrations for peace or Eastermarches take place. This year they mainly demanded peace talks with Russia, a stop to weapon deliveries, and calls for the downsizing of atomic arsenals. On Easter Sunday (the 31st of March) and Monday (the 1st of Aprl major German cities saw demonstrations in varying sizes. The one in Berlin has been somewhat smaller than expected with only 3,500 people attending. The organizers expected at least 6,000 people.

Let’s go back to the major changes taking place this month, such as the reintroduction of VAT taxes on gas. In the wake of the Ukraine war, the government lowered VAT taxes on gas from 19% to 7%, which was the lowest possible VAT bracket in the EU. The measure expired on Monday the first, which put VAT taxes on gas back to 19 %.

The state refuses to make investments to control the country’s economic turmoil. According to experts, the domestic economy can get worse because of the state’s too little spending. However, the current minister of finance is a staunch neoliberal who believes that all state spending is always bad, so instead of investing in the economy, the state is cutting expenses.

One way the state is trying to save money is by cutting social welfare for parents. The reform, which took effect on the first of April, only affects parents with a yearly income of above 200.000 euros. Those parents now won’t have the right to claim parent money, a state aid for parents. Additionally, the ministnet incomence is planning some not-so-great high earners. The effects of cold progression are going to be alleviated. Cold progression happens when somebody slides into a higher tax bracket after a raise and in the end has a lower net-income.

To continue with not so great news: Currently at least four hundred police officers are under investigation for right-extremist or fascist ideology. The actual number of open investigations will be even higher, since Berlin, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Thuringia, and Bremen haven’t disclosed their numbers of internal investigations. Additionally, German police forces are notoriously lax in investigating and prosecuting their own for fascist ideology. Roughly every three months there is news abouthe t a new right-extremist chat group inside of a police department, and only on rare occasions the members of these chat groups are then investigated or even charged.

On that note about right-extremism, the fascist Björn Höcke has been charged again with usage of forbidden Nazi symbols. Using symbols or slogans of the Nazi Regime, such as the swastika or the SS runes, outside of an artist or educational context is illegal in Germany. Bjrön Höcke, the party leader of the AFD in Thuringia and candidate for prime minister in the upcoming elections in September, has used the nazi slogan, Everything for Germany, repeatedly at rallies. He was already charged in twenty twenty-one and ordered not to use it again. But in December twenty twenty-three he animated the crowd to shout the slogan. Following this incident, the public prutor again charged him with using forbidden slogans and violating court orders.

Up next, Christian Lindner, the minister of finance, has proposed a plan for financing defense investments. Lindner, who is notoriously opposed to state spending, said on Tuesday the second that investments into the military could be manageable. To accomplish this he plans to pay back the debt the state accumulated during the COVID pandemic later than originally planned. That would free up around nine Billion Euros, which he wants to invest in the military, while at the same time still cutting social welfare, reducing investments in green energy and blocking any attempt to tax the wealthy. Following the invasion of Ukraine the German military has already received a one hundred Billion Euros cash infusion and Germany vowed to spend 2 % of the GDP on the military in the coming years. The country is already one of the biggest military spenders in Europe.

To finish off this week, some cautiously optimistic news: Cem Özdemir, the minister of agrarian affairs, has proposed new legislation that aims at forbidding torture breeding, and inhumane practices against farm animals. Torture breeding is very common in dogs. A torture breeding in dogs means breeding specific characteristics that make living painful for the animal. For example, the French and English bulldogs are bred purely for their looks. They’re known for their tiny snouts, which make them cute to some, but it makes breathing painful for the dogs. Practices like cutting the tails of pigs, and long-distance animal transports would still be legal.

And that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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