newBROOM Breaking News

Crazy coalitions after local elections
(Germany) The latest local elections in three of Germany’s sixteen federal states brought such weird outcomes that the perplexed parties need to find new ways to build strong solid governments.
In Saxony-Anhalt, CDU, Greens and SPD want to build a new-fangled coalition. Whereas two of the three (CDU & SPD, Greens & SPD respectively) have already had some elementary experiences with working together, the threesome has never been forced to make politics. We will see what happens.
A similar thing is happening in the Rhineland-Palatinate, where SPD, Greens and FDP are trying to work out a creative common programme.
But the strangest combination is the one in Baden-Wurttemberg: Greens and CDU, with the conservatives as junior partner. That is a completely new situation, especially since the federal country had been a stronghold of their party until the Greens turned tables five years ago. As interesting as this seems, there is one flaw in the plans: The new right party, AfD, will be leader of the opposition in the Landtag. Not the best of ideas, is it?
But, whatever happens, we will simply hope that democracy will survive even this. And maybe the need to build strong coalitions will lead to stronger democratic parties in the end. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.(BC)

 

NewBROOM-e-gram

This past month has seen yet more terrorist attacks, resulting in more deaths. But we will not back down and keep up writing!
March 1st – Super Tuesday in the USA. Each of the two big parties (Democrats and Republicans) is trying to find out who is going to be their presidential candidate. So far, things look like a duel between Hillary Clinton and, of all people, Donald Trump.
March 4th – The Turkish president bans a critical newspaper. That does sound familiar to us. Colleagues, don’t let that stop you being critical!
March 13th – Super Sunday in Germany. Three of the federal states had elections. The bad thing is that in all elections the new right-wing party AfD won a lot of votes.
March 22nd – Brussels is target for terrorist attacks. More than 30 people die when bombs explode in the airport and in a metro-station.
March 24th – Radovan Karadzic, Serbian politician that was, is convicted to serve 40 years in prison for mass murders during the Yugoslavian wars in the 1990s. Serves him right.
March 25th – New Zealand voted to keep its flag (the one with the Union Jack in the corner). There had been a referendum to ask the people whether they wanted a new flag without reference to the former colonial power.
March 27th – Irish people remember the Easter Uprising of 1916 today. In Dublin, a huge parade takes place.
March 30th – The USA announce that they want to send more tanks to eastern Europe. Hooray. Did we really need another provocation for Russia?

The new right

(Germany) The last three elections in federal states show it clearly: Germans learnt nothing at all from their own history.
A new-fangled party calling themselves “Alternative for Germany” (AfD for short and in German) is apparently on the rise. They did not have any programme that would have helped them in federal state politics (mind you, they are just anti everything in general, so not even the federal section has a proper programme), but they got load of votes.
Some of the AfD-leaders are openly fascist. Very much so. They say things which are very close to being a legal offence, for example denying the Holocaust. They only blame OTHERS for things which went wrong, and they never say what they want to do differently. It is just awful. And scary. So many people love their simple paroles, and parrot them. So many people think that the refugees are all terrorists, when most of them flee the same terrorists that those morons fear. So many people think that they will get less if others get something. We are a country of egoists. If everyone thinks of themselves, then everyone is served well. We are thoughtless, and heartless, and stupid.
Hang on. We? No. I will not be a part of this “we”, and if those people are “the people”, “the Germans”, then I’m not one of them. They are nationalists, I am so not. They show the flag, thus making this erstwhile symbol of democracy and liberal thought a sign for narrow-mindedness and fascism. They pervert everything with their crude rhetoric and their refusal to believe in statistics and figures unless they themselves created them. They are unbelievably blind.
Many people said they gave them their votes as a protest against the inefficiency of the established parties. But do they really think giving their votes to a party without a programme and with a lot of fascists in high ranks will help politics? The Germans need more history lessons, and more lessons in critical thinking. We are in danger of becoming like people who vote for demagogues without thinking twice. Hang on, we’re becoming Americans and Donald Trump will rule the world if this goes on.(BC)

Defence Against the Dark Arts

(Hogwarts) The school is preparing for the exam phase, and teachers as well as students are working a lot. Yet Ogden Worthy-James had time to come to talk to us, and we really appreciate this.
BC: Hey, Ogden, how are things up at the castle?
OWJ: Fine, fine. The kids are getting nervous about the exams, of course.
BC: You are the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Ogden. Are there any differences in your teaching after the defeat of Voldemort and his cronies?
OWJ: Not really – unless you are referring to my predecessors in office. I am not trying to preen like Lockhart, I do not harbour somebody else in my body like Quirrel, I certainly do not try to kill people like the fake Moody. But I do things a bit like Remus did – you see, I asked him because Harry always said that Remus had been the best teacher he had had in my subject.
BC: And what about Snape? And the Carrows?
OWJ: Gosh, Brian, who would want to be like the Carrows? And as to Snape, there were some things that were quite good in his lessons, with regard to the subject. Better say nothing about methods.
BC: You are right there. But are you now trying to do things a bit the Umbridge-way, with theory rather than practice?
OWJ: No. I might not be a Moody who saw bad buddies behind each corner, but we all are aware that even though Voldemort is gone there are still enough people running around thinking he had been right after all. So the kids do learn theories, but we also train defensive magic.
BC: Does that include jinxes?
OWJ: Yes, absolutely. Some jinxes and minor curses are great for defending yourself. I even thought of having Patience come in for the mirror spell – somebody said she was an expert in that.
BC: She definitely is. But better not do that around full moon, or the room might be blasted…
OWJ: Right, thanks for the advice. Now, if you don’t have any more questions, I would rather go back up to the castle and work some more.
BC: Of course. Thank you for your time, Ogden! (BC)