Left to right: Jörg Meuthen, then Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland, co-leaders of AfD
Seated in front: Beatrix von Storch
These are the big four who led the putsch against Frauke Petry.The Barbarians Among Us
by JLH
What are the consequences of Merkel renewing her “Grand Coalition” with SPD? A musical revue of the effect of this and the AfD. CLICK ON THE SINGER’S NAME TO HEAR THE SONG.
1. Frank Sinatra:
But he’s got high hopes, he’s got high hopes
He’s got high apple pie, in the sky hopes
From Politically Incorrect:
The AfD Takes Over the Budget Committee
dpa (German Press Agency) January 23, 2018
The AfD is taking over the chair of the Budget Committee in the Bundestag. As the party confirmed on Tuesday, AfD Bundestag representatives will also be chairing the Judiciary Committee and Tourism Committee.
Traditionally, the strongest opposition party has claim to the chair of the important Budget Committee. If the coalition of CDU, CSU and SPD comes about, that would be the AfD.
AfD’s parliamentary manager Bernd Baumann said his party was happy “to have received these important committees, as the largest opposition party.” He added: “I recall that the unfortunate network enforcement law [NetzDG] is in the purview of the Judiciary Committee, which we will chair.”
Committee chairs are not elected by the committee members but are “appointed.” The regulations further state: “With the confirmation of a quorum and the appointment of the chair, the committee is constituted.”
2. Chyvonne Scott:
You’ve built the flame that won my heart
But your lying and cheating has torn us apart
And I’m moving on
From Stern:
The Bundestag Celebrates German-French Partnership
(Only one party talks of “hypocrisy”)
The Bundestag celebrated the German-French partnership, but it did not go off without controversy. The AfD made sure of that.
55 years after the signing of the Élysée Treaty, leading politicians of Germany and France invoked an even closer partnership. The two EU heavyweights have a special responsibility for Europe, explained Federal President Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) in the Paris national assembly. “We will go forward together as Germans and French,” he said in French. As common tasks he named creation of a German-French economic union and the “great themes of the future” — protection of the climate, energy, the digital society.
One day after the vote in the special convention of the SPD for acceptance of formal coalition negotiations with the Union, Schäuble’s appearance in the French capital was seen as an important signal. France’s socialist-liberal head of state, Emmanuel Macron, had made far-reaching proposals for the restructuring of the European Union and has been waiting for months for a new government in Berlin. As a desirable partner for EU reforms, he sees Germany’s Chancellor Merkel (CDU).
AfD Calls This Action “Hypocrisy” and Refuses Applause
The Bundestag and the French National Assembly passed a common resolution in separate sessions. They called for a new Élysée Treaty and improved cooperative work across borders.
At the special session of the Bundestag, in which members of the National Assembly also participated, its president, François de Rugy warned against the dangers of isolation and nationalism. “Populism and nationalist movements threaten all European nations,” he said. In the sometimes emotional and contentious debate, Union faction leader, Volker Kauder, also warned: “Europe will only have a good future without nationalism.”
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Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega Nord in Italy, promised that he would deport 100,000 migrants every year when he becomes prime minister. That means that during his five-year term half a million migrants will be deported.
