24 Dec 2025: Germany: 4 Things

 1.  That Giessen story I discussed yesterday.....guy driving his car into a bus-stop...injuring a couple of folks?  Well....police are suggesting he has a mental issue.  I would imagine....judge will put the guy into a 30-day deal....have him evaluated.  'Dummy-test' situation (as youthful Germans describe the eval).

As my son noted of a co-worker faced with taking a dummy-test.....you really don't want to be in a position of proving your mental state.

2.  German weather folks hyping up massive arctic front....snow-fall for eastern/southern parts of Germany for Xmas.

This AM....0 temp (32 F).  Hefty wind.....wind-chill way down.

3.  Fair amount of criticism coming up in Hamburg....city has noted that over 2025....they've spent near 75-million Euro on hotel rooms, for migrants.

4.  Some CDU Party members (not from the top 1000) are trying to engage on topics of 'agreement' with the AfD Party.  CDU leadership discussing kicking these folks 'out' of the CDU Party. 

Simply not going to happen.  

Woke Chatter

 The German TV show "Die 100 – Was Deutschland bewegt," a debate format on Last Monday night....I sat and viewed ARD (public TV, Germany) featuring the Die-100 public forum show (live)....with 100 participants voting on controversial topics.  

Topic?  "Ist Deutschland zu woke?" (Is Germany too woke?). 

This directly addressed ongoing "woke" debates in Germany, such as political correctness, cultural appropriation (e.g., wearing sombreros or Native American costumes), language changes, etc.

In the beginning....the 100 folks 'playing along'....were pretty much 50-50 on 'yes', or 'no'.

By the end....the 'no' crowd....feeling the country was not so much 'woke'....edged  up to the 60-percent level.  Oddly, via the folks at home, and voting....they were near '60-percent' on yes, Germany is woke.

I sat and pondered over this number business, and then wondered....how did the ARD  folks select people for the live show?

How do Germans explain woke?  In simple terms....some intellectual comes up....associated with some university, some political group, or some foundation....to say some stance/language/belief in society is outdated, and troubling. So they want you to focus on dumping your thoughts, words, or beliefs.

If you argue with the intellectual....things just go worse-off for you, and you are identified as old-fashioned or racist.

The problem here....as 'woke' is explained to the non-intellectual crowd....they seem to pour more 'concrete' on their belief/words.  

Throughout the past week or so....via social media....a lot of Germans have discussed the show, and the 'woke-agenda'.....more so....on the negative side.

The 'slam' I see approaching?  Well....the SPD and CDU-CSU folks....don't have much room to engage on this talk, and should avoid woke-BS entirely.  On the list of 500 political topics to hype-on.....this is a 300-to-400 position (on woke).  

Germany And Christmas Movies

 In the mid-1990s....I was stationed at Ramstein, and around the week after Christmas....another guy who was married to a German....came up to converse on a topic (week after Christmas).  

A Christmas movie shown on commercial German TV.....I had watched the same one.

So the plot....modern era....German Santa....being chased in some way by a mafia-group (with machine guns).  

My associate asked if this were typical/normal?  I responded....stuff made from 1960s/1970s....had a low budget situation and revolved around some snow storm.

Last week....I viewed a ARD (public TV) production.  The chief theme of this family Christmas 'meeting'....the older daughter (a nurse)....was screwing around with Doctor-so-and-so (married guy), and about 40-percent of the movie theme....was mom giving the girl a lecture, or accidentally bumping into the guy.

This week (last night)....the ZDF (public TV) production....was a Christmas murder-mystery.  No Santa....marginal snow-storm....just a murder.  By the last 12 minutes....they'd figured out he died of a heart-attack, and was not murdered.

My advice....don't go expecting much if the conversation comes up with a German...over possible viewing options.  Just ensure you have a adequate stock of rum and a six-pack of Pepsi. 

How Older DDR Germans View Today's Society

 I watched a piece (podcast) in the past ten days....where two older Germans (I'd assume they were both in their 60s...originally from DDR/old East Germany).  

The two went through five or six quick topics...mostly having to do with woke-BS, news-coverage, politics, social media being lite-police-action, and Germans being told what they 'think'.

Yeah,  it wasn't really a positive talk.

What they got around to....drilling into the idea that in some weird way...we were in some new-age DDR.....sounding free-and-open....while 'boiling' (frustrated) in the same way that East Germans were accustomed in the 1980s.

The trouble here....you can't readily blame Merkel, the CDU-CSU folks, ARD/ZDF (public TV), the police, Scholz, Merz, the SPD, the Greens, or Trump.

Added to this....you can't say it's a DDR/East German 'creation' or evolution.

About fifteen minutes into this 'talk'....I muted the conversation.  It jump-started a pondering session for me.  

This woke-BS leading back to 1980s DDR-thinking?  Well....you can probably say this....but only if you are over the age of 60 and remember the 1970s/1980s.  These 18-to-30 year old Germans (particularly from the western side of Germany)...have no viewing point to talk about., 

My question....just how many former older DDR folks think this way?  Ten-percent?  Thirty-percent?  Sixty-percent?  Ninety-percent?

It's just an odd topic and I would imagine no one from public TV will engage upon this.

If You Go By District Voting

 

If you go purely by district voting trends (not state or national)....the CDU-CSU folks lead, but AfD is in 2nd place (easily).

You still have marginal pockets of support for the SPD folks.

23 Dec 2025: Germany: 2 Things

 1.  I watched a German podcast yesterday....intellectual German guy saying....'many Germans no longer feel represented by established media (I assume meaning print-news TV)'.

The 'butter' to his talk....democratic exchange only functions when different opinions meet on the same level.

2.  32-year-old driver from Azerbaijan, living in Giessen, taken into custody yesterday.

Guy drove into oncoming traffic on one of the main streets near a bus stop in the afternoon....hit a car. Minutes prior....cops say that the same man had driven his car into a bus stop, injuring several people.

Cops are careful not to say it was intentional.  Based on the description.....sounds like he was wasted/boozed-up or on drugs.

Bad Indicator

 New poll out....just over 50-percent of Germans don't see the coalition (CDU-CSU-SPD) lasting 3 more years (next election).  Blame?  Mostly directed at the Chancellor, and lack of progress.

If they held a new election in 2027?  AfD likely comes up with 25-to-30 percent of the vote....but there's zero chance of a coalition being built to include them.

Any bright candidates for the SPD, or CDU?  No.

Disenchantment likely to continue.

Greenland-Trump 'Saga' Continues

 I noted today....US President Trump has appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as Special Envoy for Greenland, which is officially part of Denmark.

In a limited statement....Trump added that Landry will work hard to protect US interests and security, as well as the "survival of our allies" and the entire world.

Within hours....Denmark reacted sharply and summoned the US ambassador to explain things.

Early in 2025....poll was done in Greenland.  85-percent of folks were against joining the US.  Around 5-percent were pro-US, and  9-percent were simply not willing to answer either way.

If you asked what drives this idea?  It's never been fully laid out on the table.  I doubt if its a mineral/oil thing.  

As for Landry changing 'minds' there and getting folks to accept the idea....I'm open that maybe 10-percent might be easily convinced within a year, but beyond that....most are convinced that Denmark is a wonderful provider over the island.