The only thing that remains (unfortunately) is stagnation
The events in the German Bundestag in the final week of January 2025 have moved society and aroused emotions. Nationwide demonstrations, rallies and protests in various large and small cities, party resignations (Friedman) and the return of honors (Federal Cross of Merit from Toscano and Weinberg) only slightly reflect what the voted motions in parliament have unleashed in recent days.
By Dennis Bulinski
By Dennis Bulinski
In view of these developments and reactions, is German society really in a position to make a far-reaching decision in three weeks and to issue mandates that will lead this country into the future? Are those who are trying to secure these mandates and are currently bitterly "campaigning" for the election sufficiently foresighted? - An optional perspective.
The parties of the democratic center (which has perhaps been emphasized too often recently) have to deal with an effective disadvantage that usually characterizes the relationship between government and opposition: the former are measured by their ability to solve social problems, while the latter receive attention and approval for simply naming those same problems. If, in addition, the representatives are able to be held responsible for the causes of the problems, the opposition will be in a promising position to successfully campaign for new mandates and approval.
And so the parties that have been established for decades in state parliaments and the Bundestag and the Council have increasingly degenerated into the driven in the recent past. Political actors who almost stumble from crisis to crisis, at times appearing helpless, without long-term planning for a population in which discontent is increasingly spreading and erupts in various facets. As if one were in a clearing and extinguishing a campfire that is attracting all the attention, while in the background the forest is constantly ablaze. One of these facets was recently recorded in a youth election study: fear. Surveys and studies give a solid picture that the state of being anxious is continuously increasing and consolidating from generation to generation. If one looks at the general approach and recent election successes, including among first-time and second-time voters, one can guess what the A in AfD actually stands for.
The parties in the spectrum from the Union to the Left are under pressure to provide and implement answers and solutions, but unfortunately too often remain in tune with current events. A perfect opportunity to stir up fear and launch verbal attacks aimed at the incompetence of those responsible, classic opposition work. It is all the more problematic to deal with this if you spend a lot of time emphasizing that you intend to be superior in democratic/moral terms. However, this does not solve a single problem if you have nothing else to say other than: we are not the ones who work together "with them" (Merz on 13.11.24 in the Bundestag). Nor does one achieve anything if you allow yourself to be restricted by "them" in voting and political work; if you put ideology above factual debate. In a democracy in particular, it is not the case that there is only black and white, but both and, and a whole lot of gray in between. All that remains is the fear that in three weeks' time the next incapable government will be put together. This, in turn, would then run the risk of playing into the hands of the opposition, which is working on fears, to such an extent that it would become unavoidable in the next (possibly again early) election.
So what can one do in this admittedly complex and almost opaque situation? One idea: First, show what one does not need. Even if the applause from the balcony has died down and the expression 'critical infrastructure' has long since left the social discourse, one does not need another pandemic to turn to the nursing emergency. There is no need for the umpteenth report that over 15 million baby boomers will be going into well-earned retirement in the next few years in order to make the system future-proof. There is no need for another Ahr valley to make climate, disaster and environmental protection an urgent issue. Education with renewed challenges (dealing with AI) does not need a PISA shock to be of immense importance for the next generation and those after it. And there should be no need for another Magdeburg or Aschaffenburg to debate migration and integration "on the merits" (Merz countless times in the past week) based on criteria. European, international and global conflict situations will be ignored at this point without subordinating their relevance to domestic political content. What they have in common, however, is that these problems are difficult to solve in one legislative period. Analyzing: definitely. Tackling: possibly and perhaps also expediently, yes. But solving? Unfortunately, less so. What is needed is democratic, open-ended discourse, as complicated as it is.
So how about a vision? A CDU led by Merz with currently around 1/3 approval among the populationpaints a somewhat larger, forward-looking picture. In the middle of Ms Merkel's term in office, Germany will be transformed to be fit for the future. The domestic political challenges will be addressed objectively and with the help of expertise. So that a strengthened Germany can also play a responsible role in Europe. They are directly promoting 8 years of trust, in four years they can point to the interim successes and campaign on the basis that they want to continue on the promising path they have taken. In this way, the widespread fear could be effectively addressed. The confidence that the Greens are so keen to advertise would be better projected in such a vision than any portrait on a historical monument in the Free State of Bavaria.
In 8 years, 2033, 100 years after one of the darkest years in German history, Germany could be everything that the National Socialists never wanted. A safe place for everyone, regardless of any characteristic or classification. A nation united in norms and values and the understanding of a tolerant way of life. A country in which everyone enjoys living. And that under a federal government that acts with foresight. Merz's CDU - the Nazis' nightmare. (Couldn't BILD use that headline?) That would have put an end to any firewall debate. Germany fundamentally doesn't need discussions about borders and walls, they've had more than enough of those. But all of that is just a dreamy vision. The way things are going at the moment, only one thing is certain: the standstill is here to stay.
06.02.25
Dennis Bulinski is 35 years old and teaches English and social sciences at a comprehensive school on the edge of the Ruhr area in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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The parties of the democratic center (which has perhaps been emphasized too often recently) have to deal with an effective disadvantage that usually characterizes the relationship between government and opposition: the former are measured by their ability to solve social problems, while the latter receive attention and approval for simply naming those same problems. If, in addition, the representatives are able to be held responsible for the causes of the problems, the opposition will be in a promising position to successfully campaign for new mandates and approval.
And so the parties that have been established for decades in state parliaments and the Bundestag and the Council have increasingly degenerated into the driven in the recent past. Political actors who almost stumble from crisis to crisis, at times appearing helpless, without long-term planning for a population in which discontent is increasingly spreading and erupts in various facets. As if one were in a clearing and extinguishing a campfire that is attracting all the attention, while in the background the forest is constantly ablaze. One of these facets was recently recorded in a youth election study: fear. Surveys and studies give a solid picture that the state of being anxious is continuously increasing and consolidating from generation to generation. If one looks at the general approach and recent election successes, including among first-time and second-time voters, one can guess what the A in AfD actually stands for.
The parties in the spectrum from the Union to the Left are under pressure to provide and implement answers and solutions, but unfortunately too often remain in tune with current events. A perfect opportunity to stir up fear and launch verbal attacks aimed at the incompetence of those responsible, classic opposition work. It is all the more problematic to deal with this if you spend a lot of time emphasizing that you intend to be superior in democratic/moral terms. However, this does not solve a single problem if you have nothing else to say other than: we are not the ones who work together "with them" (Merz on 13.11.24 in the Bundestag). Nor does one achieve anything if you allow yourself to be restricted by "them" in voting and political work; if you put ideology above factual debate. In a democracy in particular, it is not the case that there is only black and white, but both and, and a whole lot of gray in between. All that remains is the fear that in three weeks' time the next incapable government will be put together. This, in turn, would then run the risk of playing into the hands of the opposition, which is working on fears, to such an extent that it would become unavoidable in the next (possibly again early) election.
So what can one do in this admittedly complex and almost opaque situation? One idea: First, show what one does not need. Even if the applause from the balcony has died down and the expression 'critical infrastructure' has long since left the social discourse, one does not need another pandemic to turn to the nursing emergency. There is no need for the umpteenth report that over 15 million baby boomers will be going into well-earned retirement in the next few years in order to make the system future-proof. There is no need for another Ahr valley to make climate, disaster and environmental protection an urgent issue. Education with renewed challenges (dealing with AI) does not need a PISA shock to be of immense importance for the next generation and those after it. And there should be no need for another Magdeburg or Aschaffenburg to debate migration and integration "on the merits" (Merz countless times in the past week) based on criteria. European, international and global conflict situations will be ignored at this point without subordinating their relevance to domestic political content. What they have in common, however, is that these problems are difficult to solve in one legislative period. Analyzing: definitely. Tackling: possibly and perhaps also expediently, yes. But solving? Unfortunately, less so. What is needed is democratic, open-ended discourse, as complicated as it is.
So how about a vision? A CDU led by Merz with currently around 1/3 approval among the populationpaints a somewhat larger, forward-looking picture. In the middle of Ms Merkel's term in office, Germany will be transformed to be fit for the future. The domestic political challenges will be addressed objectively and with the help of expertise. So that a strengthened Germany can also play a responsible role in Europe. They are directly promoting 8 years of trust, in four years they can point to the interim successes and campaign on the basis that they want to continue on the promising path they have taken. In this way, the widespread fear could be effectively addressed. The confidence that the Greens are so keen to advertise would be better projected in such a vision than any portrait on a historical monument in the Free State of Bavaria.
In 8 years, 2033, 100 years after one of the darkest years in German history, Germany could be everything that the National Socialists never wanted. A safe place for everyone, regardless of any characteristic or classification. A nation united in norms and values and the understanding of a tolerant way of life. A country in which everyone enjoys living. And that under a federal government that acts with foresight. Merz's CDU - the Nazis' nightmare. (Couldn't BILD use that headline?) That would have put an end to any firewall debate. Germany fundamentally doesn't need discussions about borders and walls, they've had more than enough of those. But all of that is just a dreamy vision. The way things are going at the moment, only one thing is certain: the standstill is here to stay.
06.02.25
Dennis Bulinski is 35 years old and teaches English and social sciences at a comprehensive school on the edge of the Ruhr area in North Rhine-Westphalia.
TICKETS FOR THE SHOW "SONGS & STORIES" TICKETS FOR THE SHOW "HE\\'S BACK"
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