Monday, February 5, 2024

5 Feb 2024: Six German News Stories

 1.  Newest political poll for Saxony (state election in the fall), shows five parties likely to have seats in their state assembly: AfD (showing overwhelming 35-percent), CDU (30-percent), BWS (new party, left-leaning, 8-percent), Greens (7-percent) and SPD (7-percent).

AfD would NOT have enough to form a coalition, so CDU would get the nod to attempt a coalition.  CDU's problem?  They would have work with 3 partners (all left-leaning) to form a coalition.

2.  Poll also done in Thuringia (the state also has a fall state election).  Same story.

AfD would win (36-percent).  CDU would be second with 20-percent.  Once AfD fails with coalition efforts....the CDU has the Saxony problem....it'd have to form a coalition with 3 left-leaning liberal parties.

In all three of these state elections (fall 2024), the script will be the same, and some Germans will view the landscape of the CDU,  who ought to be right-leaning...hooked up primarily to a left-group.  I would speculate that it'll leave some conservative Germans grumbling how this landscape developed.  

3.  Just for the record....the carbon tax is in effect in Germany, and by 2026...the German government will have collected around 67-billion Euro.

How much is flowing to the public (as the original promise was that 'something' would flow)?  Well....nothing so far, and it may be the end of 2026 before anything flows.

Gov't using this extra cash to cover 'promises'?  You have to sit and ponder about this reality.

4.  It is an odd trend.  Over in France, they are contemplating the use of a parking fee regulation and saying that if you have a SUV....your fee needs to be triple that of a 'other' vehicle.  The Germans?  They are viewing this way of thinking.

It is also curious....almost half of all new vehicles registered in France....fall into a SUV category of some type.  

This attitude of anti-SUV?  I don't think working-class German people really have this state of mind.  But if you are pro-environmental, for some reason....you probably see SUV ownership as a fault or 'bad-thing' right now in Germany.

What I think will come out of this?  Some news design within three years....where the vehicle will be looking SUVish but be categorized as a station wagon in some odd way....just to avoid this stupid parking fee ideology.   

5.  Do I think anything will come out of this Tucker Carlson interview of Putin?

Well....there are four questions I expect.  First, Carlson will ask precisely what'd it take for the war to end, and Putin will have a scripted and surprising answer....leaving a opening for something to happen.

Second, I expect the NATO expansion to come up, and some pressure will be drawn upon NATO to stop the expansion.

Third, I expect the question of the Biden legit win in 2020 to be tossed at Putin, and he might shock people with insider KGB information.  

Finally, I expect Carlson to ask if Putin has any crashed UFOs in Russian possession.  I think Putin will grin, and just hint...there might be one to a dozen, and leave it at that.

6.  Union bosses are calling for a Lufthansa support staff strike for Wednesday....meaning flights likely get cancelled to some degree.

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