News from Berlin
Berlin coalition talks end in sight amid SPD internal pushback
The coalition talks to form a Berlin government have reached their final stage, with Die Linke, Grüne and SPD meeting to hammer out the last details. But pushback is coming from within the ranks of the SPD; over 1,000 party members have signed an open letter pushing against a coalition with the Berliner Die Linke. Signatories include prominent party figures such as former vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, and current Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The largest number of signatories (262) come from party members in Nordrhein-Westfalen, although Berlin members make up the second largest block (247). Source: nd
Warning strike at Mercedes Berlin:
Early in the morning on Monday, around 300 workers from the Mercedes-Benz factory in Berlin-Marienfelde gathered for a four-hour warning strike. The workers came from different companies: Mercedes, Gillete, Schindler, and more. A speaker from the IG-Metall union said that nearly all workers from the relevant sectors joined. The strike was launched in advance of another round of negotiations. IG-Metall, representing around 2 million members from across German industry, is preparing its fight against attempts attempted cuts in pay and staff, as well as defending the 35 hour day. Further warning strikes are planned in other shops and states across the country. Source: junge Welt
Berlin Linke hit by massive spam attack
The Berlin Linke have been the victims of a massiv “spam bombing attack”, clogging their email accounts and making them unusable. Members of the Bundestag are reporting 20,000 emails, from various email addresses and with different subject headings as well as languages. No other party has been impacted in the attack. Unlike the recent hacking attack on the AfD, no internal information has been leaked. Source: Tagesschau
News from Germany
GenZ movement mobilises
Protests have taken place across Germany under the new group GenZ regelt [Gen Z handles it], inspired by the similar protests in France and Italy. The youth-led protests have called for greater investment in things like schools and preventing climate change, affordable rents, as well as withdrawing the idea of military conscription. According to one of the press speakers, around 90% of the people involved in the movement are doing politics for the first time. At the same time, other groups are organising blockades of some schools and universities. Source: nd
Riots in Cologne and Frankfurt; politicians target migrants for unrest
Much of the German media and many of its politicians have focused primarily on the protests in Frankfurt am Main and Cologne, where clashes with police and looting erupted. In Köln, the scene included fireworks and knocked over garbage cans. Hessen’s Internal Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) placed the blame on “migrant milieu”, explaining that the police should focus more on “young migrant men” in the future. At the demos themselves, police used violence including water cannons and batons. Source: taz
Activists intercept far-right arsonist targeting refugees
On Friday evening, Marcello P. set out with a gas canister towards a refugee lodging in Winsen, outside Hamburg, with the intent to light it on fire. He was confronted by the antifascist research group Exif, who prevented the attack and called the police. Exif had become aware of Marcello P.’s plans through access to a far-right Whatsapp group where Adolf Hitler memes were posted, and where the attack was coordinated. After Exif alerted the police, they arrived on the scene and searched Marcello P. and one other group-chat member’s apartment. In the chat, they spoke about killing at least one racialised person – using a German racist term – or else “it is not worth it.” Source: taz
Man convicted of drugging partner, filming sexual assaults
In a case reminiscent of the Gisele Pelicot affaire, Grzegorz C. in Hannover has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for repeatedly drugging, sexually assaulting and filming his partner. He used sleeping medications from his doctor, mixing them in his partners tea or food. He then shared the videos with other men, and posted them online. Gregorz C. claimed that his problems with alcohol and drugs were to blame for his crimes, but the court found they did not negate his responsibility. The court did however take his remorse and cooperative nature into account, including his full confession and assistance with other cases. Source: taz
