NEWS FROM BERLIN
Musk and Weidel at Springer
Elon Musk, oligarch and broadcast-conscious political advisor to US President Donald Trump, is once again being offered a stage by the Springer Group. After Musk was allowed to publish an AfD election recommendation in “Die Welt” in December, he is now to appear as a guest at an “economic summit” organised by the newspaper in Berlin. This gives Musk the opportunity to speak to the country’s business and political elites in a confidential setting. Springer is advertising the event held at the company’s own tower block as a “unique speed dating event with the most exclusive decision-makers in Europe”. Source: taz
Tens of thousands of people demonstrate in Berlin against the shift to the right
Tens of thousands of people gathered on Pariser Platz in Berlin last Saturday as part of a demonstration against the shift to the right. The organisers spoke of around 100,000 participants, the police of up to 35,000 at around 5:40 pm. Christoph Bautz, founder of the Campact organisation and one of the initiators of the demonstration, called for the democratic parties’ firewall against cooperation with the AfD to be maintained. He made a direct appeal to CDU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz: if he seeks a joint majority with the AfD on migration issues, then “an uprising of the decent will break out in this country,” affirmed Bautz. Source: rbb
Displacement in Wedding: the “Kulturhof Kolonie 10”
The “Kulturhof at Koloniestraße 10” in Wedding is a special place. Over the last 30 years, a biotope for animals and plants has been created in the former haulage yard. It is essentially a small oasis in Berlin. The new owner of the site has no plans to preserve that haven, though, rather planning on building micro-apartments. To push this through, it has even been taking legal action against the neighbourhood protection order before the Higher Administrative Court last year – without success. The controversial model of temporary living is offered on the so-called “Campus Viva 2”, and it allows the rent cap to be circumvented. Source: Berliner Zeitung
Activists allegedly projected Musk’s alleged Hitler salute onto Tesla factory
Campaign groups have apparently projected a photo of Elon Musk onto the façade of the Tesla car manufacturer in Grünheide, where he gives an alleged Hitler salute during his defence of Trump. Above it, the word “Heil” is illuminated in a similar font to the word “Tesla” in neon lettering. Videos showing further images of Elon Musk can also be found on social networks. Groups such as the “Centre for Political Beauty” and the British campaign group “Led by Donkeys” are said to be behind the campaign. They are said to have used projector technology to beam images and videos onto the façade of the factory. Source: rbb
Teacher who slapped student charged
On 9 October 2023, two days after the Hamas attacks in southern Israel, the teacher Andre T. at Ernst Abbe High School, in Berlin, slapped the then 15-year-old pupil in the face with the flat of his hand in front of rolling mobile phone cameras. The pupil had previously shown a Palestinian flag. When the teacher asked him to take it down, he refused – and kicked the teacher after the slap. The public prosecutor’s office accused the teacher of assault in office and had originally demanded a fine of 3,000 euros, but is also accusing his client, who had to change schools, of assault – because of the kick. Source: jungewelt
NEWS FROM GERMANY
CDU politician calls for coalition with the AfD
Saskia Ludwig (CDU) has called for a coalition between her party and the AfD, in the event of a majority after the new elections. “If over 50 per cent vote centre-right, then there must also be a centre-right government for the citizens,” she told local broadcaster “tvberlin”. In this context, Ludwig described the Union’s “firewall” to the AfD and the left, proclaimed by Union chancellor candidate and CDU leader Friedrich Merz, as “deeply undemocratic.” In 2021, CDU leader Friedrich Merz said before his election as party chairman: “With me, there will be a firewall to the AfD.” Source: t-online
German federal election: more new citizens than ever
In Germany’s snap election on February 23, there will be more new citizens and first-time voters than ever before in the history of the country, according to “Focus” magazine. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for instance, around 121,260 more residents have German citizenship than the last time voters went to the polls in 2021. Only German citizens over 18 are eligible to vote in federal elections. Among the reasons for more voters, is the fact that 2023 marked eight years since many Syrian citizens arrived in Germany as refugees in 2015, and until summer 2024, eight years of residence in Germany was a requirement for attaining citizenship. Source: iamexpat
Neo-Nazis are getting younger and younger
Before the large demonstration against right-wing extremism in Kassel, neo-Nazis mobilised for a counter-protest. Among them were mainly young people. On Instagram, you see them dressed in black in front of the Himmelsstürmer at the Kulturbahnhof, and some of them showing a circle with their thumb and index finger and spread out fingers. The white power sign is a code of the far-right scene. According to right-wing extremism expert Sascha Schmidt, the mobilisation for the counter-protest, which ultimately failed to materialise, came from two new groups that had not previously made an appearance in Hesse: “Jung Stark Hessen” and “Deutsche Jugend voran”. Source: hna
Several mosques in NRW receive bomb threats
A bomb threat was received at Duisburg’s central mosque on Warbruckstraße last week on Thursday night. The related email´s content threatens against Muslims, saying that they should leave Germany if there were to be no deaths. The police reacted quickly, evacuating the mosque and cordoning off the area. The building was searched with the help of explosives detection dogs. No suspicious objects were found. The central mosque in Cologne and the central mosque in Essen were also affected by similar threatening letters. The investigations are ongoing. Source: islamiq
A new German hardness
Just under four weeks before the federal elections, the CDU/CSU has now submitted two draft motions for the Bundestag, which are intended to bring about a “turnaround in migration policy”. They are to be passed by the Bundestag next week. A majority is considered unlikely, but would be possible if the CDU/CSU, AfD, BSW and FDP vote together. The “current asylum and immigration policy jeopardises the security” of citizens and the “trust of society as a whole in the state”, according to the shorter of those two drafts, which also make reference to the recent knife attack in Aschaffenburg. Source: jungewelt
Bavaria out of control
Lisa Poettinger already suspected what was in store for her. A few months ago, the trainee teacher stated in an interview how the Bavarian state reacted to her involvement in “Extinction Rebellion”, sending members of the Bavarian State Security Service to her home. An act that was intended to convey an unmistakable warning, meaning if you stand up for climate protection in this way, it will ruin your future. Four years later, the Free State made good on its threat. Poettinger, who has now completed her studies, is not allowed to start her traineeship. Source: taz
