NEWS FROM BERLIN
22,000 take to the streets for the 1st of May
The May Day protests in Berlin were more peaceful than in previous years. According to the police, 22,000 people took part in the “Revolutionary May 1st Demo,” but there were relatively few arrests and injuries. The police claim that this is the merit of their new de-escalation tactics, and received the praise of Berlin’s Minister for the Interior, Iris Spranger (SPD). The revolutionary demo was just one of many, after the previous day’s “Take Back the Night” queer-feminist protest, the DGB union protest, and the satirical “Milei, Musk and Merz to Mars” demo in Grunewald. Source: tagesspiegel
Berlin’s Senator for Culture Joe Chialo resigns
Joe Chialo (CDU) resigned after being Berlin’s Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion in Kai Wegner’s Senate since 2023. Speculation as to whether he would become Federal Minister of State for Culture, came to an end once the CDU officially announced that media entrepreneur Wolfram Weimer would take over that post. Chialo’s time in office was not without controversy, such as the conflict surrounding the “antisemitism clause” proposed after the Hamas attack on Israel. He was also sharply criticised for the Berlin Senate’s austerity measures, which have had a massive impact on the cultural sector. Source: bz
Sarah Wedl-Wilson becomes Berlin’s new Senator for Culture
Sarah Wedl-Wilson will take Joe Chialo’s place as the Senator of Culture in the capital. Berlin’s mayor, Kai Wegner (CDU), claimed that Wedl-Wilson understands the problems and enjoys the trust of cultural workers. Unlike her predecessor, Wedl-Wilson is not a member of the CDU party. Born in Great Britain in 1969, the long-time cultural manager not only has experience in cultural administration but is also considered a long-standing expert on Berlin’s cultural scene. During the announcement, when asked about the budget cuts, she just stated that “Berlin will remain a cultural metropolis.” Source: rbb
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Islamophobic MP becomes State Secretary
Christoph de Vries (CDU) has spent years dealing with migration and made a nationwide name for himself with racist statements. The Hamburg politician is now to become State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. He announced he wants to “do everything in his power to make the asylum turnaround a reality.” The fact that de Vries is promoted outraged the Hamburg Alliance Against the Right (HBgR), among other organisations. “The CDU man represents AfD positions,” according to HBgR spokesperson Felix Krebs. At a panel discussion in 2021, de Vries presented an “integration scale,” where he ranked foreigner groups from starting downwards from those who share “the same level as the organic Germans.” Source: taz
Gérard Depardieu concert on Rügen cancelled
The French actor Gérard Depardieu had planned to perform at the Putbus theatre on the island of Rügen last Friday. However, the event was cancelled at short notice. According to the theatre, he is not allowed to leave France, where he is currently on trial for sexual assault. The director of the Putbus theatre, Peter Gestwa, affirmed that they only found out about the travel ban on Thursday afternoon. “It came as a surprise that the public prosecutor’s office turned up and wanted his passports,” he added. The event was sold out. Source: bz
The pension system and the coalition agreement
There are two aspects in the coalition agreement that might be politically and economically explosive. Firstly, the coalition could be planning to oblige the self-employed to join the statutory pension scheme, which could be a major advance – or a drop in the ocean. The major drawback of statutory pension insurance for the self-employed is that they pay their contributions alone, i.e. there is no employer who pays half of the contributions. Secondly, the pension level could be abolished as an assessment parameter, without a clear alternative outlined in the document. A major pension reform is still not in sight. Source: focus
Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies AfD as right-wing extremist
The AfD has now been classified as confirmed right-wing extremist throughout Germany by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. This previously only applied to three state associations: Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt. Nationwide, the AfD has been listed as a suspected right-wing extremist case since March 2021. This authorized the domestic intelligence agency to use resources such as informants, surveillance, and the analysis of public and non-public sources. The AfD itself considers the decision to be politically motivated. As Deputy Chairman Stephan Brandner told the Rheinische Post, such a decision has a damaging meaning on the image of the party. Source: dw
“AfD politicians have no place at concentration camp commemorations”
Germany is currently commemorating the end of WWII and the liberation of the concentration camps 80 years ago. Brandenburg’s memorial director, Prof. Dr. Axel Drecoll, warned of the rise of right-wing extremists at the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp. “The AfD trivializes the crimes of the National Socialists,” he said. “For them, the end of the Nazi regime is not a liberation.” Drecoll argues that coming to terms with the Nazi era and protecting fundamental rights are intertwined: “Today, we have a responsibility to defend this foundation by all means.” Source: bz
Merz elected Chancellor on second attempt
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has been elected Chancellor on his second attempt. The 69-year-old achieved the needed majority of more than 316 votes in the Bundestag. 325 members voted for him, 289 against, and one abstained. The new governing coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD has 328 votes in parliament. Among the first to congratulate Merz was outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier subsequently received Merz at the Bellevue Palace and presented him with his certificate of appointment. This morning, Merz had fallen short of the required majority in the first round of voting – a unique event in the history of the Federal Republic. Source: tagesschau
