NEWS FROM BERLIN
Next warning strike at BVG
The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) will once again be on strike. The trade union ver.di announced on Friday that it calls on employees to go on a two-day warning strike on March 19 and 20. The strike will take place before the next round of negotiations, on March 21. The ver.di negotiator Jeremy Arndt said that the BVG’s latest offer was “completely inadequate.” It ignores the massive price increases that employees have to contend with on a daily basis. If no agreement is reached by next Friday, Arndt mentioned the prospect of a ballot for indefinite strike action. Source: rbb
Mohamed Amjahid: “The police have ‘carte blanche’ to beat up in Berlin”
Several videos from the Berlin demonstrations on Women’s Day instances of police violence, such as a woman on the ground with an officer pressing her head down into his genitals. Journalist Mohamed Amjahid has been researching themes such as sexualized police violence in Berlin for more than 10 years. Amjahid’s research shows that it makes a difference which demonstrations one participates in, and that the police tend to protect right-wing demonstrators. “Women and queer people are particularly affected”, he added. The researcher believes that the police have “carte blanche” to violently crack down on protesters. Source: berlinerzeitung
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Tesla sales fall, anger at Elon Musk grows
Sales figures show that it is increasingly difficult for Tesla to find buyers in Germany. Musk’s controversial policies seem to make it hard for potential customers to decide in favour of a Tesla e-car. The manufacturer points to a planned pause in the production of the model “Y.” As André Thierig, plant manager at Tesla Grünheide, points out: “We completely overhauled the Model Y at the beginning of this year”. However, the American manufacturer’s sales are collapsing not only in Germany, but also in China and in the rest of the European Union. Experts say that the Tesla crisis is home-made, by the boss himself. Source: rbb
Right-wing groups attack refugee accommodation
An investigation is underway against three individuals suspected of attacking a refugee center in Stahnsdorf, south of Berlin, according to the spokesman for the Potsdam public prosecutor’s office, Christian-Alexander Neuling. The public prosecutor’s office has so far not offered details about the events and the victims, citing the ongoing investigation. The Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Katrin Lange (SPD) declared that “such attacks on refugee accommodation are completely unacceptable and must firmly be condemned. People seeking protection must be able to live safely in Brandenburg without violence and threats.” Source: islamiq
Billions approved, credibility damaged
After more than three hours of debate, the CDU/CSU, the SPD and the Greens reached a majority in a special session of the Bundestag, amending the Basic Law at the last minute in order to take on billions in additional debt. The funds will go to infrastructure, defense, and investments by the federal states. The path to a majority was painful for future Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), who had run his electoral campaign against such billion-euro programmes and had to listen to accusations of insincerity from AfD and FDP members during the special session. Now all eyes are on the Bundesrat, where representatives of the federal states have to approve the Budestag’s decision. Source: tagesschau
Guns, butter, war credits
The German debt brake is being reformed to allow boundless loans for armaments in the future. Exactly how much money is needed for armaments is uncertain. The governments of the USA, China and the UK are also planning loans totalling thousands of billions for the large-scale purchase of weapons and equipment. The states’ lenders are the financial markets. Their judgement determines how much armament a state can afford and how much it will cost, with obviously serious consequences for the population. Source: nd
Bavaria wants to vote in favour of financial package in the Bundesrat
The Bavarian state government does not have the intention of blocking the federal government’s financial package in the Bundesrat, according to State Chancellery Leader Florian Herrmann (CSU) after a crisis meeting of the coalition partners CSU and Free Voters (Freie Wähler) in Munich. However, the state will set out its position in a protocol declaration, making clear that climate neutrality should not be defined as a state objective and that the financial equalisation between the federal states must be reformed. Source: tagesschau
AfD MP employed in Thuringian BSW ministry
Lydia Funke has vilified political opponents as “journeymen without a fatherland” and affirmed that criminal “foreigners” would be “thrown out.” The AfD politician has been attracting attention with slogans of this kind for almost ten years, including five years as a member of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt. Now the 42-year-old has a new job: as a consultant in the Thuringian Ministry of the Environment, which is run by BSW member Tilo Kummer. The matter is explosive because the AfD has long been classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in both Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. Source: taz
Employers’ side sees compromise in wage public sector dispute
Unions and employers seem to come closer together in talks about the wage dispute for federal and municipal public sector employees. “The gap has narrowed considerably,” said Karin Welge, chief negotiator for the Federation of Municipal Employers’ Associations, in Potsdam. However, there is no end in sight to the third round of wage negotiations, which began last Friday, and yet no official assessment from the trade unions. It is also conceivable that one side could declare that the negotiations have failed. Then there would be arbitration – and no further warning strikes for the time being. Source: rbb
