Could The MDR Public TV Be Shut-Down?

 Well....this is an interesting 'talk'.

MDR is a sub-unit....under ARD (national public TV in Germany)....'owned' by three eastern states (Saxony/Sachsen, Saxony-Anhalt/Sachsen-Anhalt, and Thuringia/Thüringen).  

If the three states as a whole....came up and said to dissolve....that would end MDR.

So there's talk....that elections are coming up over the next two  years, and there's a potential outcome....where AfD...comes to power in all three.

AfD?  They've hinted that the network has 'trust' issues.

National problem?  The rest of the sub-networks are fairly 'safe' at this point. 

If you asked most Germans if they are happy about the TV-tax....under the age of 30....most will say they don't use public TV much.  The age-50-and-over?  Probably up toward 60-percent like the public TV option.

This might be an interesting political discussion.

INSA Poll

 INSA does a lot of polls....which lead people to ask further questions.

So I read through a poll this AM....asking Germans about the state of freedom of opinion in Germany.  Roughly 84 percent of respondents are 'concerned' about the current state of freedom of opinion.

Added to this polling....64-percent of Germans believe that there is no conceivable coalition capable of fixing this.

What you generally see....in a group of Germans (say they each know the political slant of their group)....they are willing to share a pretty dynamic opinion,  but if this is a public setting with strangers....they generally keep their opinion private.

If you were to mix this with journalists....they might share one or two insights, but it won't be the 'blunt' truth that they hold.

The fact that two-thirds of society see no coalition able to resolve this problem?  It's a untouchable problem.

25 May 2026: Germany: 6 Things

 1. The wife and I, with 4 others, went to a Italian restaurant last night. Popular place....40 tables....enough space for 120 folks.  Sunday evening....holiday on Monday....expected the place to be overflowing.

Well...parking lot was only around one-third full....maybe forty folks there. Gazing at the menu....prices up....maybe 15-to-20 percent.  Pizza and water for me, with a espresso at the end....25-Euro.  

Yeah, inflation has started to affect German's habits.

2.  Ukraine getting some entry deal into the EU?  Well....there's talk of creating a path.  Merz is apparently going to press for some type of 'deal'.

3. When I arrived in early 1978 in Germany....the topic of summer heat came up with a older German co-worker at Rhein-Main Air Base. For about 10 minutes....he talked over the heat from late May to late August of 1976....where a frontal system stalled and triggered a hundred-day drought, and high temp's.

Even today....the weather folks will hype that one  single year.

4.  German gov't talking for health insurance reform....to force civil servants onto the path for public package.

5.  There's a wind generator in Bavaria...near the A-7 autobahn....which caught on fire yesterday.  Fire crews can't really get to it....so it's been  burning for about 24 hours (oil in it keeps it going).

6. German industry is reporting profits (first good indicator since mid-2023)....while reporting dismissal of 100,000 workers.

24 May 2026: Germany: 6 Things

 1. Someone decided that a gay poll needed to be done in Germany....don't ask me why.

So....gays/lesbians....suggest that around 28-percent of them vote for AfD.  I tried to reason the cause for this....but came up with nothing.

Second place...Greens....near 20-percent.  SPD near 12-percent. CDU-CSU...near 18-percent.

I'm not saying this is a big deal....just a odd statistic.  Before the poll was done....I'd say that one-third of gays were Green Party folks.

2.  Big brawl involving around 40 people broke out in Mockrehna, northern Saxony, on Friday evening (sun hadn't gone down yet). Seven folks were injured, four of who were taken off by ambulance.  Video that I saw....men and women....bats and broom-sticks.

One group/element were reported to be Bulgarian in nature....second group unknown.  No one says cause.

3.  Focus interviewed a number of Germans on vacation near the Garda Sea (Italy).  Chief complaint.....Chancellor Merz can't do the job.

4.  Some Turkish guy got arrested and went to court for selling virtual cows. It would appear that over 100,000 Turks got into this 'gimmick'.  Court says guilty....sending the guy off  for 45,376 years of prison.

The Crime? Well....launching a massive cryptocurrency and online-game scam....defrauding thousands of investors out of millions by promising high returns from non-existent livestock operations.

Me personally?  The first 7,000 years ought to go without any issues.  Somewhere around year 35,000....the judge might release the guy 'early'.

5.   ADAC, the emergency car 'service'....upping it's membership fee....by 25-percent.  Still worth the money.

6.  Heat wave today in my valley.....31 C (88 F).  Highest temp of the year so far. Number of days so far at 30 C-plus: counting today....2.

World Cup Problem

This past week...I've watched two podcasts...one dealing with World Cup soccer chatter, and the other with hotels in World Cup locations...in fear of lacking reservations.

So, the chatter is mostly centered on a lack of fans coming to spend money to watch the games.

Tickets being privately marketed for $2,000....for what would be a 200 Euro pricing situation?  Yeah.

Hotel rooms marketed for $2,500 a night (luxury-plus) for what would be normally $250 a night?  Yeah.

Will there be stadiums filled with 20-percent of fans?  Normally in the first round....with marginal teams in the mix....you would not see filled stadiums.  Those hotels thinking they can market $200 a night hotel rooms for $1,000?  They were obviously stupid.

The key thing will be the quarter-finals....if you have folks  unwilling to pay $1,000 for a $100-ticket.

This Syrian Deportation Dilemma

 The German federal authorities say....there's in the range of 10,000 to 11,000 Syrians on a deportation order....meaning they've done things (probably drug sales, assaults or made no effort to integrate)...to  deserve deportation.

Issue?  Well....they need entry permits to return back to Syria.  In the news this week, it came up that Syria has declined the pass-permit request for this group.

What'll happen?  My best guess is that Syria can be influenced with a cash situation...probably in the region of 50,000 Euro per individual. Yeah....figure 500-million Euro to get some deal going.

Hurting public support with the CDU-CSU-SPD coalition if they have to 'buy' a way out?  Yeah....that's the negative.

This being the only group on deportation orders? No....as of late March (2026)....there's 237,000-plus folks on orders to leave.   If you do the numbers....roughly 20,000 individuals yearly....leave, but there's always a 'incoming' group to keep the numbers inflated to 200k-plus.

22 May 2026: Germany: 7 Things

 1. Russia/Putin:  From this trip to China....if you measure the activities/honors....Putin got about a quarter of the attention that Trump did.  

I would add....some financial data from the Russian gov't has come out....noting that around 11-percent of all bank loans for commercial property are 'life-less' (the ability to cover is zero....so the Russian banks are sitting on dead-weight). 

2.  Kevelaer, Germany (NW):  School project for 14-year old kids in sex-class.....they were given the idea of setting up a red-light-district 'house' and setting up a 'menu' for services.  School director said there was nothing 'crazy' about the project.

3.  This reform idea of setting retirement in Germany at 70 (from 67).....but would not come into play until 2060.

Maybe if we were talking about bank clerks, or bakery folks....it might work. But for about half of all jobs....age 70 won't work.

4.  Tom Kaulitz....one of the Tokyo Hotel band members....has signed some contract to be a soccer-expert for the World Cup games. 

5.  Bus safety inspections.....I noted a story that one out of every five German bus inspections....is a failure.

6.  Plagiarism 'hunter' Stefan Weber now says there are 125 'problems' with the thesis of Thüringen's Minister-President Mario Voigt (CDU).

What will likely happen?  University will have to devote some time, and determine if true, and how bad the situation is.  

7.  German fast-track divorces discussed now.....if there is some element of violence.

Sachsen: INSA Poll

 State election not until 2029 (fall):

AfD leads with 42-percent.

CDU with 21-percent.

SPD with 6-percent.

BSW with 7-percent.

Greens with 6-percent.

Linke with 9-percent.

Long way away from election....but lays out the path of a problem....no one will partner with AfD...leaving the CDU (2nd place) to form a gov't with 4 partners.