It Is Kinda Funny

 Back over the past twenty years....if you asked most Germans how youth-voters (meaning 16-to-20 year old Germans) were trending....the majority of older Germans would respond....they were trending toward left-causes...or the SPD Party/Green Party.

I sat and read through a Focus piece written by Julia Rohrs.  She says there's a new trend, and it worries people.

Young voters are now trending toward the right.

'Problem kids'?  Well....that's the suggestion.

Should folks worry?  I'm not if 'worry' is the word I'd use.

Some of this I think....is social media attention (not X/Twitter....but TikTok).  

Some of it relates to the way that the Ukraine/Russia war is trending.

Some relates to economic problems.

Overwhelming issue?  No....to what they suggest....maybe one out of five is trending this way.  Now, if we got to a point where one out of three folks were hyped-up and consumed for right causes....yeah, it might be worth discussing.

The odd factor here?  No one seemed that worried when the group was trending heavily to the left.  

Five Q-and-A

 1.  For the German 2025 national  election....if Scholz is 'swapped-out' with Pistorous....do the election numbers change?

So to the reality of this funny topic....back in 2021, most everyone agreed that Scholz wasn't really a person to 'sell' a brand, but the CDU Party (Merkel's crowd) did everyone a favor by finding a lesser desirable chancellor candidate.

My humble view....once we get to December 2024....Pistorous will be given a 'nod' and enter the Chancellor election phase.  

The SPD problem then?  They've not impressed anyone for four years.  They need a 'brand' to sell, and the only voters they will attract are Green Party voters.  So what I see is a fair loss for the Green Party (them drifting down to 12-percent) and Pistorous able to get up around 25-to-28 percent for the SPD.  It might be enough to marginally win....if the CDU Party can foul things up a 2nd time.

2.  Is there a punctuality problem with the German railway system?

Look....go back to the 1970s, and trains were always about 70-percent on-time (meaning  within 5 min of the schedule).  From a personal view....even with all the gadgets and management....nothing has improved that much or gotten worse over 50 years. 

If anything....there are fewer operational toilets on the trains, and that's more or less....a mystery why they can't fix them.

3.  Are German guys more 'point-magnets' for losing their driving license?

The fed system says.....with data to back it up....three-quarters of the people who get points via traffic tickets...are men.  Eventually, I suspect that insurance companies will invent a rate that cut car insurance for women in Germany.

4.  All this Caliphate chatter worrying folks?

What you had in Hamburg was a protest situation with about 1,000 to 1,500 protest folks who want a Islamic Caliphate system working in Germany.....meaning the Islam folks have one set of rules/laws, and the non-Islam folks would just keep cruising with normal German rules/laws.

Public TV hyped the protest, but so far.....hasn't been a lot of similar actions in other parts of Germany.

If you did approach the 5.5-million Muslims in Germany (bulk are Turks).....asking about this idea....I suspect  90-percent would just start laughing because they can't take it serious, and they don't want alcohol, cannabis, or stringent lifestyles inflicted upon them.  From the remaining 10-percent, half of them would probably tell you that mixing politics and religion creates a 'Frankenstein-like' mess.

Yet, this drilled up public forum topics for at least a month.

5.  Lot of discounts on Chinese E-cars in Germany?

Well....for several weeks, it's been openly discussed.  Probably more cars sitting on the lots than expected from a year ago.

Russia Economic Conditions

For those who don't know.....Gazprom is the Russian company that pumps oil/natural gas, and probably is the bulk of the reason why Russia had it's significant GDP for the past forty-odd years.

2023?  Record  loss.  Loss of 6.4-billion Euro for the year. 

Reason?  It goes to two problems.....Europe quit buying their natural gas/oil, and the crew that helped to make 'pumping' work (from the ground to the distribution point....were European high-tech energy companies.....who no longer operate in Russia.

I talk about this for the sole reason....everything that made Russia into a 'big' player in the world of commerce....revolved around natural gas and oil.  Without that mechanism....they slide down into the level below Brazil, India, or Mexico.  A back-up marketing or profits tool?  No....none.

So this idea of rebuilding their military?  It's a joke unless the war ends and relationships start back up with consumer countries.

I'll also offer this humble thought....if you were a Russian billionaire before all of this started, you've probably lost half of your fortune, and see little incentive to remain in Russia and wait this out. I would imagine most have seen enough....to exit and find some quiet place in Asia...to just hang out.  

3 May 2024: Five German News Stories

 1  Interesting FOCUS piece written by Ulrich Reitz.  Topic?  Coalition gov't having to deal with Islamism, the push for a 'Kalifat', and where things are evolving into.  You can read the piece here.

What the Hamburg police report from the protest in recent days....a sum of the people there....were ethnic Germans....born within Germany (meaning they are 2nd  or 3rd generation Germans....mostly of a Turkish nature).  

2.  In my area (just outside of Wiesbaden)....from 8 PM last night...just a ton of rain.  Probably in the 6-to-8 inch range.

3. EU offering Lebanon a 'deal'.....to hold back Syrian refugees....billion Euro a year.  Probably a decade too late.

4.  Frankfurt city officials have signed off....will allow topless swimming at all city pools. Supposed to bring gender equality.

5.  Chatter going on....France may send it's troops to the Ukraine if the current front collapses.  

How My Day Went

 I ended up today in Mannheim...for the Mai-Markt...the big Pfalz 'expo'.  So six things:

1.  If you never been.....it's last week of April....first week of May.  10 Euro per adult.  Wouldn't advise to bring kids.

2.  Big item for this show?  Balcony-mounted solar panels....must have been 12 distribution companies showing off their stuff.

3.  I went by Bahn.....I will just say the system worked as advertised.

4.  New fashion trend?  One out of fifteen women wearing fitness-work-out pants....meaning every inch of the butt is prominent.  Ok for a fitness club....wrong item for school or some public event.

5.  Food is 20-percent higher than 4 years ok.  I had what was classified as a 'Swank-steak' sandwich.....cut about 50-percent of what you'd typically expect but normal charge.

6.  Had to wait for 70 minutes at the Mannheim train station.....waited mostly out front of the building.  Two cops on patrol.....they must have checked ID on 15 guys while I was standing there.....NONE of them German types. Just odd....being fairly aggressive.  But none of the 15 had any issues (they all had their ID).

2 May 2024: Three German News Stories

 1.  Interesting piece  on Focus, written by Gabor Steingart, entitled: "The idiocy with the ban on combustion engines - 5 reasons why we'll soon get rid of it again."

Basically, he lays out that the EU ban on selling  gas/diesel car after 2035....is likely come up for another vote after the EU election, and could be tossed....meaning that the German ban is then gone in some fashion.

I'll just say that the hype from the public in Germany has hit a max-point.....maybe one out of five desire an e-car. 

2.  16 Amazon delivery vans in Berlin have been lite on fire in recent days.  Some group is saying they are responsible.

3.  Cops in Kaiserslautern got called Tuesday night....some late-30's guy going nuts.  They tried to get him calmed down....things went badly....so they resorted to the stun-taser.  Guy collapses.....ends up dying.

Investigation against the two cops started up now.

What the witnesses say (mostly relatives)...guy was acting funny and inflicting cuts upon himself.....before the cops arrived.  

A Scoop Of Ice Cream Inflation Chatter

 I noticed off Focus a long talk this AM on the price of one scoop of ice cream in Germany now.

In a normal summer, I'd probably stop and have a scoop or two.....forty-odd times in a summer.  

If you went back to the era before Covid (say 2018)....a scoop ran around 90 Euro-cents to 1-Euro. 

Today?  The Focus folks walked around to a number of cities.  Bochum: 1.40 Euro. Dortmund: around 1.43 Euro.  Bonn: 1.50 Euro. Dresden: around 1.83 Euro. Hamburg: around 1.87 Euro.

My big thrill?  Occasionally, I'll stop in a coffee shop/bakery and have a Espresso (double).  This used to be (prior to Covid) around 2.40 Euro.  Back in December, I stepped into a bakery where the double-Espresso was 4.80 Euro.  I didn't catch the cost change until she'd rung the cup up.  Since then, I eyeball the menu and get a price estimate before I buy it.

Here's the thing....inflation hasn't hit a stopping point yet.  

By the end of 2025 (in 18 months)....I expect the 1.50 Euro one-scoop of ice cream to be absolutely at 2.0 Euro.   I expect the 3.00 Euro double-Espresso to be near 4.00 Euro. 

Odd Travel Story

 I have the DB (Bahn, railway) App, and it was dirt-simple to operate...until recently.

They made the search engine simple enough....I could find the right 'trip' and block it (even with seats)....with a credit card or direct purchase via my bank.  

Well....they attached a second program and wanted you to prove who you were.  This program....having nothing to do with the DB App....wanted your pic of your ID, your cellphone, and was to create a whole new password gimmick.

So yesterday and today....I spent around 3 hours trying get myself signed up.  

Total waste of time.  Three different ways to sign up.....they all failed.   So I can look up trips on my smart-phone, but I CAN'T buy a ticket unless I stop at the machine by the tracks, or by the DB-Travel Shop.

My impression?  I don't think DB and this second security company ever tested their product as one single seamless effort.

The local tram and bus company?  They kept their program running....without any of this security stuff.