German Federal Election 2021 - Who will succeed Angela Merkel?

[celedhring]

Funnily none of our lunatics openly defends exiting the EU, except the superfringe left. I guess they all know which side our bread is buttered 

[Sheilbh]

Funnily none of our lunatics openly defends exiting the EU, except the superfringe left. I guess they all know which side our bread is buttered 

No-one does

I think Brexit showed it's difficult and, on the right, Hungary and Poland show you don't need to leave to pass that agenda (with EU funding largely intact). See the difference between Salvini who plays up old-school Euroscepticism, especially about the Euro, and Meloni, who doesn't. Most seem to focus on, at most, leaving the Euro.

[Josquius]

We have our share of lunatics too, but so far both on the right and left, they are at <= 10%.

The fascist AfD wants "Dexit", i.e. to leave the EU including Euro and Schengen, stop all migration to Germany, especially family members of refugees, ban minarets, stop remembrance and atonement for the crimes of the Third Reich, the Bundeswehr should live "German military traditions"..

The socialist Left Party wants to leave NATO and close US bases, no German soldiers abroad, no weapons exports, a "normalisation" of relations to Russia, solidarity with Palestinians...

... These left wingers do know the USSR isn't a thing anymore right?

[Maladict]

Funnily none of our lunatics openly defends exiting the EU, except the superfringe left. I guess they all know which side our bread is buttered 

No-one does

Our nutters do 

[Sheilbh]

Our nutters do 

Although - which nutters?

I feel like, given the number of parties in the Dutch parliament, you need to narrow that down

[Maladict]

Our nutters do 

Although - which nutters?

I feel like, given the number of parties in the Dutch parliament, you need to narrow that down

Exhibit A: likes sailing, mercantilism, nostalgia and casual racism. Would prefer to leave EU, or else destroy from within.

[The Larch]

Funnily none of our lunatics openly defends exiting the EU, except the superfringe left. I guess they all know which side our bread is buttered 

No-one does

I think Brexit showed it's difficult and, on the right, Hungary and Poland show you don't need to leave to pass that agenda (with EU funding largely intact). See the difference between Salvini who plays up old-school Euroscepticism, especially about the Euro, and Meloni, who doesn't. Most seem to focus on, at most, leaving the Euro.

Leaving the Euro is a particulary Italian thing, the common currency has never been popular there and calls for abandoning have existed almost since the very beginning.

Regarding our lunatics, Vox does from time to time go on an anti-EU rant, most probably mixing it up with anti-globalism, but leaving it has never been part of their program, AFAIK.

[Sheilbh]

Leaving the Euro is a particulary Italian thing, the common currency has never been popular there and calls for abandoning have existed almost since the very beginning.

Yeah that's fair and I think it's particularly strong in Italy with some support for leaving the Euro - but I think beyond Italy, Euro politics, rather than the EU itself, often becomes the focus of eurosceptics in other countries too: France, Benelux, Germany.

Regarding our lunatics, Vox does from time to time go on an anti-EU rant, most probably mixing it up with anti-globalism, but leaving it has never been part of their program, AFAIK.

Is globalism as much of a code-word in Spain as it is here?

[Zanza]

Both our fascists and socialists have "moderate" (or rather less extreme) wings that want to stay in EU and NATO respectively, but the more extreme wings currently seem to have the upper hand in both parties.

In an interesting development, a seventh party is now big enough to be counted separately in polls although at the moment they are below the 5% threshold. The "Free Voters" are a conservative party that favors law-and-order, migration following the "Canada model", direct democracy via referendums, stronger regionalism in some aspects (but moving education to the federal government) and is somewhat eurosceptic (think Schäuble during the Greece Euro crisis). They are currently the junior partner of the conservative Union in Bavaria.

[Sheilbh]

Interesting - are they particularly regional? Very strong in Bavaria but not elsewhere?

[Zanza]

Their strongest position is in Bavaria, but they also have factions in the parliaments of Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg and single members in the parliaments of Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. Also two seats in the European Parliament.

[The Larch]

Leaving the Euro is a particulary Italian thing, the common currency has never been popular there and calls for abandoning have existed almost since the very beginning.

Yeah that's fair and I think it's particularly strong in Italy with some support for leaving the Euro - but I think beyond Italy, Euro politics, rather than the EU itself, often becomes the focus of eurosceptics in other countries too: France, Benelux, Germany.

That was triggered by the crisis in Greece, I'd say. In Italy this anti-Euro attitude predates that.

Regarding our lunatics, Vox does from time to time go on an anti-EU rant, most probably mixing it up with anti-globalism, but leaving it has never been part of their program, AFAIK.

Is globalism as much of a code-word in Spain as it is here?

It is certainly something that Vox has been pushing since the very beginning.

[Zanza]

Local survey in Saxony-Anhalt (2.2 million persons, 2.6% of Germany) which has an election in two weeks shows the fascist AfD in top position. Caveat: The pollster INSA seems sympathetic to the AfD and often has them slightly higher than other surveys.

[Maladict]

Local survey in Saxony-Anhalt (2.2 million persons, 2.6% of Germany) which has an election in two weeks shows the fascist AfD in top position. Caveat: The pollster INSA seems sympathetic to the AfD and often has them slightly higher than other surveys.

Still a (slight) net gain for the coalition, it doesn't look that dire to me.

[Zanza]

If the FDP makes it, which looks likely, the "Kenya" coalition of CDU/SPD and Greens is too small to continue. Maybe add the FDP to get a "Zimbabwe" coalition... 

But there is open talk in CDU to be a minority government "tolerated" by the AfD. That would be a big move...