German Federal Election 2021 - Who will succeed Angela Merkel?

[Syt]

Ministers were all sworn in. Everyone arrived in limos, except new agricultural minister, Cem Özdemir (Greens).

[Syt]

Macron's farewell message to Merkel (wit video!)

https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1468501855567507459

Emmanuel Macron
@EmmanuelMacron
Officiel du gouvernement - France

Merci, chère Angela, de n'avoir jamais oublié les leçons de l'Histoire, d'avoir tant fait pour nous, avec nous, pour faire avancer l'Europe. Danke, dass du die Lehren der Geschichte nie vergessen und so viel für und mit uns getan hast, um Europa voranzubringen.

Cher @OlafScholz, la suite, nous l'écrirons ensemble. Pour les Français, pour les Allemands, pour les Européens. À vendredi ! Das nächste Kapitel werden wir zusammen schreiben. Für die Franzosen, für die Deutschen, für die Europäer. Wir sehen uns am Freitag!

[Sheilbh]

My favourite take from a emiritus professor of economics at Amherst:

Richard D. Wolff
@profwolff
Self-censoring BBC hides new German gov 't led by SOCIALIST PARTY (in his SPD party, S is for socialist). BBC calls him "social democrat." Portugal's coalition gov't since 2016 too is mostly hidden: socialists + communists + Greens.

[Habbaku]

Dick Wolff is self-parody at this point. The man knows plenty, but seems to just be dispensing the dumbest takes on a lot of issues lately.

[Syt]

Well, in a country where a party like the Democrats, who would be right of center in much of Europe, are considered left-wing radicals by a significant part of the electorate, slightly left of center parties like the SPD must look like hardcore Socialists.

[Valmy]

Well, in a country where a party like the Democrats, who would be right of center in much of Europe, are considered left-wing radicals by a significant part of the electorate, slightly left of center parties like the SPD must look like hardcore Socialists.

It is all culture war stuff. When you have Republicans voting massive deficits and cutting checks to every single American, I am not seeing a big traditional conservative slant in any way except on cultural issues.

So when they say the Democrats are radical left they are talking about transgender and anti-racism and all that mostly. Though i guess now we have climate change and vaccines that the populist right is also labelling left wing these days.

[The Larch]

Dick Wolff is self-parody at this point. The man knows plenty, but seems to just be dispensing the dumbest takes on a lot of issues lately.

It is however very much in line with many American right wing actors that foam in the mouth at the mere thought of anything remotely leftist and start screaming "Commies!" at the drop of a hat. I mean, this very same week Forbes was sounding the alarm on the Chilean presidential election about the risk of the country electing Boric (head of the left-wing coalition) because he is, according to them, a commie (he is not), and how the right wing candidate (the son of an actual nazi and basically the Chilean Bolsonaro) was so much more preferable.

[Sheilbh]

He's on the left. He's annoyed the BBC are covering up left wing governments.

[The Larch]

He's on the left. He's annoyed the BBC are covering up left wing governments.

Who do you mean?

[Sheilbh]

He's on the left. He's annoyed the BBC are covering up left wing governments.

Who do you mean?

The guy posting that the BBC is self-censoring by calling Scholz of the Sozialdemokratische party a Social Democrat instead of a Socialist

He's a Marxist economist and obviously the reason the BBC calls Scholz a social democrat is because that's the name of his party which is normally how the BBC report things, rather than making an ideological assessment.

[Josquius]

Calling a social democrat a social democrat is sensible. Far more specific than just socialist.
But there is a valid point that the UK is going rather backwards and american in terms of how we interpret the word socialist.
This isn't the time or place but the BBC and the rest of the right of centre media is complicit in this.

[Duque de Bragança]

My favourite take from a emiritus professor of economics at Amherst:

Richard D. Wolff
@profwolff
Self-censoring BBC hides new German gov 't led by SOCIALIST PARTY (in his SPD party, S is for socialist). BBC calls him "social democrat." Portugal's coalition gov't since 2016 too is mostly hidden: socialists + communists + Greens.

Maybe he did not hear about the SPD abandoning marxism in Bad Godesberg in 1959. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godesberg_Program

That's actually worse than that for Portugal. It's socialists, non-destalinised communists and (far-)leftists.
Coalition has collapsed however.  Where's clandestino btw? Sporting qualified for the next CL round and he disappeared.

[Habbaku]

He's on the left. He's annoyed the BBC are covering up left wing governments.

Who do you mean?

The guy posting that the BBC is self-censoring by calling Scholz of the Sozialdemokratische party a Social Democrat instead of a Socialist

He's a Marxist economist and obviously the reason the BBC calls Scholz a social democrat is because that's the name of his party which is normally how the BBC report things, rather than making an ideological assessment.

[Zanza]

A government with Scholz as chancellor and Lindner as finance minister will follow the general economic policy of the postwar German social market economy. Expect nothing big changing here.