Friday, February 4, 2022

Q-and-A: Germany: 4 Feb 2022

 1.  Magic appeal of the SPD dwindling?

WELT did a poll, and if a national election were today.....the CDU would win with 27-percent of the vote.   The SPD would have slipped to 22-percent.  I might go and suggest that this trend will continue throughout 2022, and there will eventually be a 10-point difference by the end of the year.  It doesn't mean anything because the next federal election is 2025, but it means problems for state elections which are always showing up at various times.

2.  German cops admitting that this hunter-killer from the Pfalz (killed two police last week) has been in constant trouble with the legal system?

Yes, they even admit it originally goes back to 2004.  It's just that he'd get a good lawyer, and usually get out of trouble, or pay a fine.  

At the moment right before he shot the two police....with the situation developing....a lot of unregistered business activity, hunting without a license, and tax issues would have unfolded....putting him in the 15-to-20 year situation of prison.   

3.  No-mail issues existing?

HR brought up this topic for the region of Bebra (fairly rural area about 90 minutes NE of Frankfurt).  Deutsche Post has made some apology, but the Covid issue has hit their local post capability pretty bad.  One gal complained that she'd not received any mail for ten days now.  

4.  Does the German Infection Protection Act (covering the whole Covid situation) officially end in mid-March?

Yes, there was a deadline written into the Act, and unless they renew it....it's supposed to conclude.  It's anyone's guess if it'll be renewed for six more months.  If you asked working-class Germans....I'd take a humble guess that 50-percent want the crisis era to end.  

5.   Was the comment "We scared a lot of people" made by a German mayor on the public TV show 'Markus Lanz'?  

Claus Ruhe Madsen, mayor of Rostock, did utter the phrase and talked over the past two years.  Video of the discussion at this site, and worth watching (in German).  His point is that the message/theme constantly changed, and people were generally kept in a state of fear.  

6.  German employees stressed out in some professions, leaving.....creating a job worry for some employers?

ZDF (Channel Two, public TV) covered this last night.  A lot of people....in certain professions (like the medical area) are just plain tired and run-down.  So they've put out resumes, and found less stressful work.....leaving the old boss/company in a 'pickle'.....unable to find new employees that easily.  The longer that the crisis goes on.....the bigger this 'exit-door' becomes and creates a serious long-term problem.

7.  Why has Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor of Germany, from 1998 to 2005, been back on page one of the news?

Well....he's seen by the SPD and most journalists as the 'black-sheep' of German politics because once he left the Chancellor job.....he went to work for the Russian natural gas company Gazprom.  In simple terms, he became a mouth-piece for the Russians.  

In recent weeks, he's come back onto the news programs....been interviewed and continually given a pro-Russia position.  For Scholz (current Chancellor)....it's a problem that he hates to discuss.  

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