lunedì 12 febbraio 2018

Germania, Grande Coalizione : decideranno i nuovi iscritti all'Spd. Possibile? Sì!

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2018-02-12.

Jean-Claude Juncker und Martin Schulz in der Wahlarena

Circolavano da tempo le più disparate voci, ma adesso la notizia è ufficiale, e quindi possiamo riportarla con la debite citazioni.

Ricapitoliamo esclusivamente per chiarezza espositiva.


Il 24 settembre dello scorso anno Union, Cdu e Csu, ed Spd uscirono nettamente sconfitte dalla tornata elettorale. Persero 189 deputati elettivi.

Frau Merkel tentò di mettere in piedi una coalizione con Fdp e Grüne, ma senza risultato.

Su ordine del capo dello stato iniziarono i colloqui per una nuova Große Koalition, nonostante che Herr Schulz avesse espressamente dichiarato la sua indisponibilità ad un simile accordo.

Per statuto, Herr Schulz era tenuto a chiedere alla base, tramite un referendum, il parere vincolante sia a proseguire i colloqui sia all'accordo definitivo.

In un primo passo, Herr Schulz ottenne una risicata maggioranza a proseguire: adesso invece gli iscritti all Spd sono chiamati a ratificare la nuova Große Koalition.

Così, 463,723 iscritti all’Spd decideranno le sorti della nazione ed entro certi limiti anche dell'Unione Europea.

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Di questi 463,723 iscritti, 24,339 sono nuovi iscritti, ai quali Herr Kevin Kühnert, il capo dei Giovani Socialisti, ha dato 10 euro a testa per rimanere nel partito due mesi e votare contro la Große Koalition.

NoGroKo JuSo. I giovani socialisti vogliono affossare la Große Koalition.

«But before the coalition can actually get to work, some 460,000 SPD members must first approve the deal»

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«Among them are individuals who do not hold German citizenship, including several refugees»

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«SPD-affiliated sources estimate there are roughly 7,000 non-German party members»

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«I don't like the fact that the CSU will control the Interior Ministry»

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«I'm not happy that Horst Seehofer will become interior minister.»

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«On the other hand, I don't like the prospect of a minority government or fresh elections, either.»

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«Even so, I'm currently leaning toward voting "no."»

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«If the government caps the number of relatives allowed into the country at 1,000 per month to reunite with individuals granted subsidiary protection, some might wait five years for their relatives to arrive»

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A questo punto diventerebbe cosa lecita il domandarsi se sia conforme ai criteri della democrazia:

- che 463,723 iscritti ad un partito politico possano condizionare la formazione del governo.

- che i voti si comprino al mercato del pesce, e per vile prezzo.

- che ben 7,000 di codesti 463,723 iscritti all'Spd non siano nemmeno cittadini tedeschi e siano anche islamici.

A nostro sommesso avviso, un ritorno alle urne sarebbe stata cosa ben più corretta.

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Orbene. Cosa mai sarebbe successo se Mr Putin avesse fatto iscrivere all'Spd tutti i russi, oppure Mr Orban tutti gli ungheresi residenti in Germania?


→ Deutsche Welle. 2018-02-11. Refugees vote on German coalition: 'A big step for integration'

Syrian refugee Abdulrahman Abbasi is a member of the SPD party and therefore gets to vote on Germany's coalition agreement. He told DW why he thinks it is right that he has the vote even though he is not a citizen.

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Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have agreed a coalition deal. But before the coalition can actually get to work, some 460,000 SPD members must first approve the deal. Among them are individuals who do not hold German citizenship, including several refugees. SPD-affiliated sources estimate there are roughly 7,000 non-German party members. One of them is Abdulrahman Abbasi.

DW: Mr Abbasi, you do not hold German citizenship but have a say in Germany's political future. How does that make you feel?

Abdulrahman Abbasi: It means a lot to me. Even though I don't yet have German citizenship I feel part of this society. I study dentistry in Göttingen and have been living in this country for four years. I enjoy the rights and honor the duties of living in this country and actively participate in its social and political life. Deciding on the next government means a lot to me because it will pass laws that will affect the society in which I live.

Is the "right to vote" an indicator of successful integration?

Of course. I think refugees should understand Germany's political system and learn more about what goes on to form an opinion on which political camp most appeals to them. But above all they must ask themselves: "Are we part of this society?" And if the answer is "yes," they must vote. Political decisions that are made later on will also impact their lives — for better or worse. For me as a refugee, this kind of political participation marks a big step in the process of integration.

What matters to you most in this vote: your own interests, those of German voters, or those of refugees?

Refugees are part of German society. I'll base my decision not only on what refugees might want, because the government is supposed to serve everyone in this country, whether they're citizens, foreigners or refugees. I'll base my vote on what the new government plans to do for everyone in this country, not just for refugees.

The coalition deal has been done. If you'll allow the question: How are you planning to vote as an SPD member?

It's a tricky decision, I'm still undecided. I don't like the fact that the CSU will control the Interior Ministry. I'm not happy that Horst Seehofer will become interior minister. On the other hand, I don't like the prospect of a minority government or fresh elections, either. Even so, I'm currently leaning toward voting "no."

Regardless what shape the next government will take: Which aspects should it emphasize in its approach to refugees?

I'm disappointed with the compromise reached over refugee family reunification, to be honest. If the government caps the number of relatives allowed into the country at 1,000 per month to reunite with individuals granted subsidiary protection, some might wait five years for their relatives to arrive. This system hinders integration because it's well-known that individuals need their families to lead normal lives here. Integration is important. People must be made to feel that they are part of society. And not that they could be deported in one or two years' time.

The interview was conducted by Meriem Marghich and Nader Alsarras.


→ Deutsche Welle. 2018-02-11. New members in Germany's SPD may play pivotal role in coalition deal's success

Thousands of brand-new members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) may very well be the ones who decide on whether Germany will be governed by a grand coalition with Angela Merkel at its helm. What are they after?

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Soft light filters through the white curtains into the large room. Charlotte Jahnz blinks and peers at huge round chandeliers that hang from the ceiling, each one as big as a children's wading pool.

Other than that, the town hall in the southern Bonn district of Bad Godesberg is a typical 1950s building, straight out of an architecture book: angular, with straight lines, an abundance of concrete, and tall windows.

"The chandeliers may have been an afterthought," Jahnz says. The 29-year-old historian is a new member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and the town hall she is inspecting is closely linked to that party's history. At the 1959 SPD convention there, the members agreed to revamp the socialist workers' party created almost 100 years before. The SPD became a modern left-of-center people's party, as modern as the building they chose for their convention.

'Enough is enough'

Reorganization is what the SPD needs yet again, Jahnz urges.

"The SPD hasn't really stood out in the grand coalition these past years," she says, adding that the party barely differed from its senior coalition partner, the Christian Democrats (CDU). "It's time the SPD moved further to the left."

Jahnz sent out her membership application only two weeks ago. At that time, the SPD was gathered for a party convention in Bonn, where the delegates voted in favor of negotiating a new grand coalition government with Angela Merkel's conservative CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). "At that point I thought: That's it, I'm signing up" Jahnz says, adding that she had already been toying with the idea to join "if and when the SPD decided to enter into coalition talks again."

After the party congress decision, "I'd had enough," she says.

Thousands of new members

Jahnz isn't the only one by far. From the start of the year to February 6, the SPD counted a total of 24,339 new members. This takes the number of members eligible to vote in the ballot on a grand coalition to 463,723.

Like Charlotte Jahnz, most of the party's new members are probably wary of a new grand coalition, though Matthias Grossgarten, head of the SPD local chapter in the town of Niederkassel, disagrees.

"In urban areas, many people might be opposed to the grand coalition, but that is not necessarily the case in the countryside," he told DW, pointing out his town as an example, where the SPD strives to be what it claims on election campaign posters, that is "close to the people."

Pros and cons

The local party chapter, which also runs a secondhand clothing shop for charity, has 10 new members, according to Grossgarten – as many as they usually get in a year. Some of the new members called to make sure they would be allowed to vote on the federal coalition, including, the politician says, an elderly woman who was vehemently in favor of going into government with the conservative parties.

"Sure, we have opponents and supporters," Grossgarten says, adding that he is actually pleased about the impassioned discussions in meetings and WhatsApp groups because this is a pressing issue "very much on our minds."

'The paint is peeling'

Back at the town hall in Bad Godesberg, Charlotte Jahnz has strolled around the building, looking in vain for a memorial plaque in honor of the landmark 1959 SPD party convention. Jahnz is fascinated by her new party's long history. The SPD was, after all, the only party still in a position in 1933 to vote against the "Enabling Act," a constitutional amendment that gave the Cabinet – in effect, Chancellor Adolf Hitler – the power to enact laws without involving the Reichstag, the historian muses. "The SPD has definitely earned great credit."

That's the past, but what about the future? The party top brass reached a coalition deal with Angela Merkel, but will the party members refuse to join a grand coalition, enter opposition and let the SPD collect itself – at the risk of experiencing further humiliation at the polls in a new election? Jahnz for one is still unsure whether she will vote for or against the grand coalition.

If the state of the Bad Godesberg town hall – which is to be restored in 2020 – is any indicator of the state of the party, one would have to say: plenty of history, but the paint is peeling. Perhaps new members like Charlotte Jahnz can help make sure the SPD also gets a fresh coat.

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