GERMANY: Protests Against AFD & more – 25th Jan 2024

Hallo from BA! This is the Rorshok Germany Update from the 25th of January twenty twenty-four A quick summary of what's going down in Germany.

In our last episode, we talked about the partly fascist Alternative for Germany Party, or AFD, having a secret meeting where participants talked about the deportation of asylum seekers and Germans with a history of migration in the family . Over the weekend, all major German cities saw large protests against the AFD. On Sunday the 21st, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. The biggest protests took place in Berlin and Munich where 350,000 and 250,000 people joined the demonstrations. In both cities the police restricted the access to the demonstration since there were too many people protesting.

One person who attended the secret meeting of fascists is part of a club called Values Union. This club used to be closely tied in with the conservative Christian democratic party, but has now announced it would form its own political party. The new party will appear on the ballots for the first time in the fall when the states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia elect their state parliaments. The party has announced that it would run on an ultra-conservative and ultra-liberal platform and has specifically not excluded the possibility of working with the AFD. Followers of the party got their first taste of the political direction the party would take when the leading members posted a picture with a banner that read: “Our honor code is the Constitution,” too similar to the SS slogan: “Our honor is loyalty.” Coincidence?

One group that participated strongly in the anti-AFD protests was the Green party. On Sunday the 21st the Green Party in Brandenburg voted in favor of a motion to start the process of an AFD ban. While the public is still debating whether or not this is the best strategy to deal with the rise of right-extremist ideology, the Greens in Brandenburg seem to have made up their minds.

In light of the growing anti-immigration sentiment, the parliament finally agreeing on a new migration law could be seen as a success. But it depends on how you look at it. The major changes are: From now on, the waiting period before an immigrant can become a German citizen is shorter, it’s now five years, or three, if the person has integrated “very well.” The main requirement is that the person does not receive any kind of support from the state. This part of the law has been tightened. Previously, if you received state support due to circumstances out of your control, like work-injuries, chronic sickness, or disablement, you were still eligible for citizenship.

The difficult economic situation and dissatisfaction with the government are strong reasons for the AFD leading in the polls. Still, the government has proposed a budget for twenty twenty-four with major cuts in social welfare and state expenditures. Germany is granting tax exemptions to the richest of society while taking money away from the middle and low end of the income spectrum.

Meanwhile, on Friday the 19th, the national train company, or DB, made an offer to the Union of Locomotive Drivers, or GDL. The DB offered fewer working hours, with reduced pay. The head of the GDL has called it an insult, and on Wednesday the 24th the GDL went on strike. The main demand of the GDL is a reduction in working hours with unchanged pay. Additionally, most other demands of the GDL were not met, and the union said it was “forced” to strike.

On to another topic: Sexuality and homophobia in schools. Research of the public broadcaster in Bavaria, or BR, uncovered that an ultra-religious group has apparently been giving sexual education courses at elementary schools and high schools. The research showed that around eighty courses took place between twenty twenty-two and twenty twenty-three. The content of the courses is not completely clear, but brochures and publications of the group Teenstar show the group’s homophobic and anti-sexual ideology. They discouraged teenagers from coming out and decried homosexuality as unnatural and masturbation as dangerous. The Bavarian government has said that they didn’t know about this group until the media reported on it.

Back to demonstrations: The farmers continue to protest. The strikes were about the subsidy cuts, but even though the government has taken back most of the harsh subsidy cuts on diesel used in farming, farmers continue to demand more money. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, has promised further support for the farmers. Originally, the cuts were planned to be enacted by the beginning of twenty twenty-four. Now they will still come, but they will be enacted in a step-by-step program to allow farmers to adjust to the changes.

More on money: The EU has decided on a new anti-money laundering legislation. Cash payments above 10,000 Euros will be illegal in the future. From now on, industries well suited for money laundering - specifically banking, but also big international football clubs - will also have to clearly identify the paying party to the Anti Money Laundering Authority, or AMLA, in payments between 3,000 Euros and 10,000 Euros. Stricter regulations will also apply to companies dealing with luxury items, such as jewelry, yachts, cars, among others. Additionally, the AMLA will move to new headquarters, but it’s yet unclear where they will be. Contenders are Frankfurt, Rome, Luxembourg, and Madrid.

From luxury to small-scale tourism: on Sunday the 21st a fire has ravaged the Wild West fun park of Pullam City in eastern Bavaria. The Fun Park draws thousand of tourists every month. The cause of the fire is yet unknown, but it doesn’t seem to have been caused deliberately. The damage is estimated to be in the millions. The head of the park has announced that repairs will start immediately.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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