What is happening in Germany is very critical because it is a reflection of the global trend. Schultz is under attack because the SPD has fallen to such a state that it is barely above the AfD. Party members are deeply concerned as I wrote that Schultz wanted a coalition for personal power. Yet there was another issue at stake. There was also a growing fear that the SPD would lose even more seats in a new election. Continue reading
Photo courtesy of Westmonster
More than 1,000 complaints of high treason have been filed against German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, since she decided to welcome millions during the migrant crisis in 2015. Continue reading
Angela Merkel is expect to win a fourth term as German Chancellor [Getty]
GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to easily glide to victory for a fourth term in power at the general election to be held in September, according to two new polls.
In one conducted by polling institute infratest-dimap, in conjunction with German public broadcaster ARD, Mrs Merkel scored her highest approval rating since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015. Continue reading
Frau Merkel dropped a big hint three years ago that she has no problem with a two-speed Europe, and even endorses the idea. This yet another signal that the greatest heist of all time is well under way.
UK Chancellor George Osborne has warned his German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble that the European Union is in danger of splitting into two, with those in the Eurozone exerting authority over those countries who are not part of the Eurozone.
The news comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted there was no longer a “one speed Europe”.
Osborne has made it clear he believes there is a genuine possibility that the 19 countries currently in the Eurozone will exert undue influence over those member states — such as the UK, Denmark and Hungary, among others — which are not part of the euro single currency. In outlining his demands for “legal guarantees” as part of renegotiating Britain’s membership of the European Union. Continue reading
Despite “justified questions” to the American intelligence community regarding eavesdropping on German networks, the US remains Berlin’s “most loyal ally”, announced Chancellor Angela Merkel in interview to Die Zeit weekly.
Merkel has made her first detailed comment into the unraveling diplomatic scandal with the America’s National Security Agency (NSA) global telecommunication eavesdropping, including those of its European allies, Germany foremost among them. Continue reading
The survey, carried out for the BBC, polled 26,000 people in 25 countries and asked them to rate 16 countries and the European Union as a whole on whether their influence on the world was mainly positive or negative.
Germany came out on top, with 59 percent of survey participants giving it a positive rating. The country moved up three percentage points from its 2012 position. It displaced Japan, which saw its positive rating fall from 58 percent last year to 51 percent, going from first to fourth place. Continue reading
“I knew that I could never win a referendum in Germany,” he said. “We would have lost a referendum on the introduction of the euro. That’s quite clear. I would have lost and by seven to three.”
The interview was conducted by Jens Peter Paul, a German journalist in 2002, the year when the Deutsche Mark was replaced by euro notes and coins, but has only been published now. Continue reading
BERLIN/PARIS (Own report) – Using a deceptive strategy, Berlin seeks to ward off the French President-elect François Hollande’s demand to put an end to the German austerity dictate. Other heads of EU member nations have begun to demand alongside Hollande that the EU return to credit financed stimulus programs, to prevent the complete collapse of several national economies, such as Greece is now confronting. Since the demise of the coalition government in the Netherlands, Berlin has found itself rather isolated and, alongside declarations of not allowing the EU zone to budge from its current austerity course, is resorting to methods to create confusion within the rebelling populations. The government is keeping “a placebo for the Euro partners” on hand, explains the press. The chancellor will most likely adopt some of the terminology used by François Hollande, but with her own interpretations. For example, she will speak of “promotion of growth,” while meaning the imposition of “structural reforms,” as envisaged by the austerity dictates. No new expenditures are planned. This is how the French growth offensive will be verbally ensnared, without having ceded an inch on the essence.
Full article: Camouflage and Deception (German Foreign Policy)
Stop for a moment and think about this crisis from the perspective of the average German. Since 2008, his nation has been saddled with the unpopular, high-risk, hugely expensive task of rescuing Europe. The Germans didn’t ask for this. And they certainly aren’t responsible for the chaos. Neither the German government nor its people have taken on suffocating debt or spent profligately on frivolous comforts. The Germans don’t take long siestas, work six-hour days or pay themselves annual bonuses for simply turning up to work. To the contrary, the Germans have worked hard, saved their money and wisely lived within their means. Yet,Germany is expected to endure tremendous risk and make major sacrifices to rescue its neighbors. It’s already forked out tens of billions in bailouts, and is on the hook for tens of billions more. By the time it’s all said and done, Germany will cover more than one quarter of the total bailout.
For what? Germany’s European counterparts are thankless, frustrated, unrepentant—and in many cases, openly hostile.
Viewed from this perspective, one can understand why Germans are frustrated and resentful.
The troubling question is, where will the anger and resentment lead?
Just a few weeks ago, no mainstream German politician openly spoke about the possibility of Greece defaulting and exiting the eurozone. That has now changed. Following Sunday’s election in Greece, where anti-austerity, anti-German parties made huge gains, German hostility has boiled to the surface. On Monday, Klaus-Peter Willsch, the budgetary expert for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (cdu), stated that Brussels needs to “make Greece the offer to leave the eurozone in an orderly fashion, without leaving the European Union.”
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The disdain of the German public is less diplomatic. “Germans are now predominantly of the opinion that they would be better off if Greece left the eurozone,” said Carsten Hefeker, a professor of economics and an expert on the euro at the University of Siegen. “Nothing is in writing,” said Guntram B. Wolff, deputy director at Brussels research group Bruegel, “but people really are clearly and openly talking about” Greece leaving.
Sense the frustration and resentment.
Herribert Dieter, an analyst with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, says preparations are already being made in Germany for Greece to default. “The mood in German government circles has become a little less enthusiastic, to put it mildly,” he stated. Dieter cited the example of Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who stated last Friday that membership in the EU “is not compulsory, it’s voluntary, and Greek society has a choice.” Schäuble’s remarks are a “good reflection of the changing mood of German policy makers,” stated Dieter.
“You can’t be a member of the club and disregard the rules,” he said. The Germans love rules and organization, structure and discipline—it’s one of their many admirable national traits. Problem is, the rest of Europe doesn’t have the same penchant for discipline and structure, at least not with finances. This is a recipe for confrontation, especially considering Germany has the political and economic might to air its frustration with meaningful actions.
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The Germans are tired of bailing out Europe and getting nothing but complaints and hostility in return.
Die Welt continued: “Every country still only debates within its own national borders, because there is no European public sphere. Germany’s joint liability for the precarious finances of the countries in crisis remains a one-way street because the Germans can’t manage to adequately assert their positions, interests or the significant efforts they’ve made.” There’s a justified yet highly dangerous tone of resentment in that last sentence. Germany wants European integration. But it’s realizing that the EU in its present constitutiondoes not work.
“Whoever ends up governing Athens, it must be made unmistakably clear to the new leaders that they’re welcome to venture out on their own, but if they want to take advantage of the financial help from the donor countries and remain within the eurozone, then they must adhere to the stipulations already laid out” (ibid). In others words, Germany should not compromise substantially. “The German citizens are certainly not prepared to finance Greece’s vacation from reality,” warned Die Welt.
To the contrary, many Germans increasingly desire to give Greece a harsh lesson in reality!
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Understand. This is not a personal assault on the German people. As I’ve noted, one can easily identify with their frustration over their reckless, thankless neighbors. Nevertheless, their welling resentment is an alarming, deeply sobering trend. You’re human; you know where resentment and anger ends. It culminates in rash, emotional decisions, in fractured, contemptuous relationships, and, often, in violence and conflict. And when it comes to Germany, history reveals a unique tendency for deep-seated national resentment to end in intense conflict.
The more intense the resentment among Germans toward their European counterparts, the more they’ll condone Germany getting tougher and stricter with Europe.
The more upset the Germans grow with Europe’s dissension, the likelier they are to demand a strong, decisive leader to whip the Continent into line.
Watch closely, and remember. It’s not the anger and resentment of the Greeks or French or Portuguese that ought to overly concern us. The nation we need to be most concerned about—and watching constantly with a critical eye—is Germany. Together, history and Bible prophecy warn that there is nothing more frightening than a German nation experiencing the convergence of deep-seated national resentment and unchecked political, financial and military power.
And Germany today has both, in excess.
Full article: Beware: Germany Is Growing Resentful and Angry (The Trumpet)
German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich has become the first member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to come out in favor of Greece leaving the eurozone and returning to its former currency, the drachma.
“Greece’s chances of regenerating itself and becoming competitive would certainly be better than if it stays in the eurozone,” the Spiegel Online news website quoted Friedrich as saying.
“I’m not talking about kicking Greece out, but instead about creating incentives for it to leave, that it couldn’t refuse,” Friedrich added. The interior minister is a member of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.
Full article: German minister says Greece should leave the eurozone (Deutsche Welle)
The campaign is driving the two most powerful nations in mainland Europe closer together. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said the debt crisis is now causing a “Europeanization of national political life.”
The Associated Press writes: “The cross-border campaigning reflects a more concerted effort toward the erosion of national sovereignty that leaders like Merkel see as the way for debt-laden Europe to survive in a world increasingly dominated by Asian economic powers such as China.”
Mr. Sarkozy’s competitor, Socialist François Hollande, would oppose everything that Chancellor Merkel is trying to do in Europe—which is pushing her to forcefully support Sarkozy.
Meanwhile, if Sarkozy wins the election, he will be in Merkel’s debt. He is already pushing France to follow Germany’s lead. This support in the election makes France even more subordinate to Germany.
The German-led EU has overturned governments in Greece and Italy. Now Chancellor Merkel is trying to keep a friendly one in power in France. Germany’s dominance of Europe is made clearer every day.
Full article: Merkel Campaigns for Sarkozy Presidential Election (The Trumpet)
HONG KONG — Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said Thursday that China was considering whether to work with the International Monetary Fund to play a greater role in financing Europe’s efforts to end a sovereign debt crisis, but he left it unclear whether China was willing to drop conditions that would make its help unappealing for European countries.
Mr. Wen, speaking at a press conference in Beijing after a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on the first day of her three-day visit to China, said that officials were studying whether China should be “involving itself more” in Europe’s debt troubles through investments in the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism. This could be done through the I.M.F., he said.
One idea under consideration by China in recent months is whether it could lend money to the I.M.F., which would then lend it to Europe. This would transfer the risk of a European default to the I.M.F.
Russia embraced this approach in December, but was willing to lend only $20 billion. China had $3.18 trillion in foreign exchange reserves at the end of December, dwarfing the reserves of every other country and potentially giving it the financial power to make a much bigger contribution.
Mrs. Merkel is the first of several European leaders scheduled to visit China this month, the latest in a series of signs that China’s huge foreign exchange reserves have begun to give it financial influence to rival Washington’s.
Full article: China Considers Offering Aid in Europe’s Debt Crisis (New York Times)
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