Landeswahlen, Volksbegehr, und Sparpolitik

Brief Update on German Politics

Hello, all.  I’ve got lots of thoughts on current German politics that are burning a hole in my brain, (wait, what?), and thought I could make a shorter post summarizing what I’ve been following from my distant seat back here in Missouri.  Some of it is actually quite encouraging, while some is disheartening or even sickening.

State elections- the federal elections for the Bundestag are approaching, set for September 2013, but many state legislatures held their elections last winter, offering some idications of the national mood.  The news was very mixed- my favorite party, die Linke/the Left lost some overall representation, but so did the Frei Demokratische Partei/liberals, the reprehensible and unprincipled business party who make it a priority to cut social services at every opportunity and to try to use Germany’s economic power to coerce privatizations in other countries.  The change was mostly in favor of the Greens, my second favorite party, and Neues Deutschland speculates that Merkel will probably have to change coalition partners- perhaps working either with the Greens or a sold-out SPD, as it seems unlikely that the liberals will have the numbers to give her Christian party a majority.  Two other footnotes in the returns- the Piraten Partei won their first state legislature seats in Berlin, while the neo-nazi National Democrats picked up a lot of strength, especially in the south.  the Social Dems are talking about banning the National Democrats, and I think they ought to: insofar as Germany constitutionally commits to banning fascist organizations from political power, the NPD certainly qualifies, and it ought to give the Verfassungschutzamt something to do other than harass union leaders, although they have been working to observe and infiltrate the Nazi Underground movement, an investigation lauded by the ND.

Energy- Berlin citizens have apparently succeeded in petitioning for an initiative (Volksbegehr) to establish a collective green power company for the city and surrounding regions of Brandenburg.  the only question remaining (as of my last reading of the ND) is when the election will be held, with the measure’s backers trying to get it on the September ballot.  (Initiatives are always handicapped by low turnout, so when possible they should be scheduled to coincide with bigger, sexier elections to take advantage of their higher turnout.).  Sadly, Merkel seems to be reconsidering her newfound opposition to nuclear power, and the ND ran a rather amusing editorial comparing her to the Simpsons‘ Mr. Burns.  Regulatory power is also under threat as Merkel, apparently as a favor to her weakening coalition partners, is allowing great numbers of Free Democrats to be installed in appointive office.  That can’t end well.

Sparpolitik und Privatisierung- the government is still pushing for mass privatizations and abolition of social services in countries with struggling economies- the most egregious ones look to be Spain’s airports and water systems.  The ND points out correctly that the status of East German Volkseigenerbetrieb after reunification offers a pretty strong case against wanton privatization- the record time and again is of increased price to pad some investor’s wallet while lowering the availability of vital service for citizens, but after all, if a government cares about its people, it’s promptly called Socialist.  (I happen to be a Socialist, but that’s beside the pointJ) 

It’s still my firmly held belief that the vital sectors of the economy- food production and distribution, energy, education, media, healthcare and transportation cannot be trusted to exclusively private hands.  Most of the western world (and nearly all the developing world) has operated with this viewpoint to one extent or another since the end of the Second World War, with generally positive results.  Now, insofar as Austerity „Sparpolitik“ seeks to revert Social Contracts to their pre-war, laissez faire state of indifference to human suffering and the evils of capital, the fruits of collective responsibility are threatened. 

Wenn ich ein Bürger Deutschlands war, wählt ich Links- were I a German citizen, I’d vote Left

Just a brief update, Danke sehr, mein Genossen und Genossinnen

Genosse Graham

Scotland, Salmond, and Secession

Hello, all.

It's still quite distant, but the day in September 2014 when Scotland will decide whether or not to claim independence and effectively secede from the United Kingdom is approaching.  This is an interesting possibility from a historical standpoint- the conquest of Scotland by England, and the resulting United Kingdom of Great Britain (to which, in the words of W.S. Gilbert, some add, but others do not, Ireland) dates to the beginning of the 18th century, and has been unquestionable until the mid-twentieth.  At present I cautiously support independence, but I'm keeping an open mind about the Union.

The present impetus for a referendum on Independence came out of the "Devolution" program begun, also by Referendum, in 1997, establishing a Scottish Parliament with significant but not total control of internal Scottish affairs.  This accompanied the rise of the Scottish National Party at the expense of Labour, which had traditionally been strongest in the Highlands.
     The Nationalists managed to win control of Parliament a few years ago, and since then their longtime leader Alex Salmond has ruled as First Minister of Scotland, chosen by the Scottish Parliament in its bizarre capital at Holyrood.  I'm a little concerned at the level of devotion he seem to inspire from his party, which, when coupled with nationalist messages really gives a rather fascist impression, but from the past years I cannot deny that he knows how to run a government, and use it to care for the most vulnerable.  While the trend across Britain from Blair to Brown to Cameron has been privatizations of vital sectors such as water and transit, Scottish governments in general and Salmond's in particular have pushed back, not only retaining the public infrastructure but extending further aid to Workers, particularly in the form of additional childcare.  Scotland's economy is strengthening, helped I believe by the strong state role, and much of the credit for improving public services must go to Salmond, and capable deputies like Nicola Sturgeon.  Youth unemployment is down 40 percent since he took office, and the SNP has remained firmly anti-war.  Indeed, one of their top priorities is the removal of Britain's nuclear arsenal from Scottish soil.  Back to the topic of youth in society, the government is just now pushing a bill which seems sure to pass, lowering the voting age to 16!  This is pretty cool.  Salmond and Sturgeon, (fishy as it sounds) know what they're doing.

The unfortunate part of all this is that Independence is not necessary to achieve the goals of the Scottish government.  The most desired power which Scotland lacks is that to set its own tax rates- all the aid programs in the world won't last without the capital to fund them properly.  This was to be originally offered as a third option in the referendum, but a combined effort of the Conservative and Labour parties got it booted.  I regret to say that Labour leader and leftwing dreamboat Ed Miliband was a willing part of this effort.  Parliament has gambled, probably correctly, that full-blown independence will prove less popular than a federal Scottish Parliament with the power to tax.  The matter is further complicated by Scotland's desire to remain on the Pound Sterling rather than the Euro.  That said, the benefits of a Scotland truly free to pursue a path of Social Democracy far outweigh these impediments, as we've seen, with boons to public health, working women, youth, and the anti-war movement already flowing from mere Devolution, an Independent Scotland could achieve so much more!

Scotland has shown it can manage its own affairs, and that its goals are significantly different than those of the Westminster government.  honestly, I think a new Scotland, one more closely aligned with Northern Europe, could be a very positive force in global politics, and a check on an increasingly conservative and to some extent, militaristic England.  Let's give Scotland its chance!

Solidarität mein Genossen und Genossinnen
Genosse Graham

Snowden, Morales, and rude awakenings

Hello, all.  I'm finally writing again.

I'm sure you've all heard- some Defense contractor, Edward Snowden, has released documents detailing the National Security Agency's massive wiretapping program.  We all knew something of this sort was happening, and that it is probably unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court ruled earlier that any effort to put an injunction on this program depended on having proof that it was operating to begin with- proof whose exposure was illegal.  Snowden apparently sought the job looking to expose as much of our government's espionage program as he could.  Whatever his motivations, I'm glad he did.

For many like me, the Bush administration's massive wiretaps program was one of the main reasons to rally behind an early anti-war candidate in 2008.  To a large extent, I supported Obama then because of his willingness to challenge the country's foreign policy consensus of long wars of occupation, torture, airstrikes on civilian targets, and stifling dissent, all while ignoring the bill of rights.  Now we find that, as with the bombing campaigns, torture, and military occupations Obama has not only allowed wiretapping to continue but has apparently expanded it.  This was all enabled by the FISA bill, passed early in his first term, setting up a quasilegal framework for constant surveillance.  This was one of the first signs I noticed that I'd been had.  (I'm sure there were earlier signs, but this was one of the first I noticed).  Essentially, every phone call's source, destination, and duration are being recorded, while google, facebook and yahoo do the same with web patterns.  Journalists' phones, in particular, are constantly tapped in the Justice Department's ongoing effort to end the practice of public disclosure of misdeeds, and it's not hard to see the massive data stockpile being used to selectively enforce laws against social elements labelled "undesirable", or simply to further enrich the security state, or haul more people off to for-profit prisons.  Whatever the goal of the program, it offers an abundance of personal information that has never previously been the domain of the state to our government.  Moreover, the Democrats who took office claiming rightly that the Republican programs had shredded our political liberties have now become ardent defenders of those same programs.  I blame most of the party, but the onus of blame falls especially hard on those who led us to believe something else- namely the president and Attorney General Holder, as well as hardline Democratic hawks like Diane Feinstein, who has quickly become a caricature of herself in this affair.

Whether you support or oppose a surveillance state, I hope you agree with me that we need to discuss the emergence of one openly, with public knowledge of our government's decisions.  this alone makes Snowden a hero.

The really depressing side of this, though, is the extent the Western World has gone to to apprehend Snowden.  Stranded in Moscow's airport, most of Western Europe forbade Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane from returning home until they had searched it, on the pretense that he was smuggling Snowden to safety.  Putting aside the laughable notion that a president as hawkish as Obama would not simply send in a (Reagan in Grenada style or Bush in Panama style) military raid on any country brave enough to harbor an American political refugee, this is a gross violation of international sovereignty.  How would we react if our president was arbitrarily stopped in a foreign country and all his effects searched by jackbooted thugs?  For the record, Morales is pretty awesome- imagine a Native American Hugo Chavez, albeit without the benefits or corruption of oil.  The mere suspicion of Morales supporting Snowden was sufficient to suspend the rights of the president of a sovereign nation.  The disappointing side of this, of course, is the extent to which the agenda of European states I like to believe are at least somewhat enlightened, states like France, Spain, Italy and Austria, coincided with that of our own government.  The other service Snowden has performed in his flight is to show once more the arrogance of the American government, which has always sought to project its will globally, whether it be tearing down governments that support economic sufficiency for their populations, monopolizing the oil and arms trade, or repealing environmental treaties, now for the moment frustrated in its effort to apprehend the man who revealed its latest misdeed.  With the spectre of Chelsea Manning's permanent suicide watch- namely, constant restraints in prison from which she will never be permitted to emerge alive, Snowden's flight is the only sensible path for a whistleblower who has not yet given up the fight. My heart goes out to him and any state willing to shelter him (well, maybe not Putin's Russia).  Whatever the case, the public still has the right to know.

Solidarität, mein Genossen und Genossinnen
Genosse Graham