Station 4 Negotiation Podcast’s Post

German legend Heino, 85, has spoken again. He says 🇩🇪 Germany needs a leader like Donald Trump. According to a German newspaper, Heino wants a politician who is: 1. bold 2. unwavering, 3. and focused on the WELFARE of the country. He also called for tougher action against violent criminals and large-scale deportations of those who violate the law. In my opinion, Germany really needs leaders which are caring about their people. I have the feeling that the current elected politicians don't act and represent the public interest. They try to keep up with other countries. The bill they get is clear: - 🛑 Public trust is lost - 🛑 The economy is down. - 🛑 and the opponents gain more votes. Not suprizing at all. Do you think Germany needs a bold leadership? ---------------------------- ➕ Follow for more ♻ Share with your network

Is Germany still a democracy? As a young entrepreneur, I am faced with uncertainty about the future of my country. I really believe that Germany is facing a serious problem. Where the right wing of our political system has radicalized (which is heavily displayed in every inch of our media) the left wing of our political system has radicalized as well. But this is not talked about. And while our government is trying to forbid the bare existence of anything that is just slightly right, while at the same time screaming out of every window that the right wing of the political spectrum wants to destroy our democracy, they themselves are burdening themselves of the fault with wich they are accusing others. Democracy means giving the people of the country an audience. It means that people of all sorts of opinion spectrums sit together and discuss the problems we are facing. It is not censorship in our media, framing and discreditation of disliked opinions and the ban of a party who is voted for by almost 30% of german citizens in specific regions of Germany. That basically means that the government would violate the basic rights that every listed citizen of this country has. Our government needs to start building trust back up. We need to enable an open discourse, without framing! We need to realize that nobody has the right to declare their opinion to be the truth since we all are very subjective - if we know it or not. And most important, we need to listen to the arguments that the other opinions bring to the table. Even if we might not agree, that never means that the other opinion therefore must be false. I want Germany to be united again. We are so deeply split in our beliefs and our government is not helping to overcome it. We are all people who love and have families - we shouldn't be seeing the whole picture as Them vs. Us. #germanpolitics #democracy #meinungsfreiheit #zensur

**The Alarming Parallels: A Rising Tide of Far-Right Influence** Eighty years after the fall of Nazi Germany, we are witnessing a troubling resurgence of far-right movements across Europe and the United States, reminiscent of the dark days leading up to World War II. This pattern, marked by the ascension of extremist leaders and ideologies, demands urgent attention and reflection. In the U.S., Donald Trump, despite his recent legal convictions, continues to draw significant support. His rhetoric and proposed policies echo those of authoritarian figures from history. Trump’s promises to jail political opponents, dismantle key governmental institutions like the FBI, and consolidate power raise alarms about the erosion of democratic norms in America. Meanwhile, Europe is not immune to this shift. Italy’s government, led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, illustrates the mainstreaming of far-right ideology. Similarly, in Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has gained substantial ground, even attempting a coup not long ago. This rise in far-right sentiment is also evident in France, where Marine Le Pen’s National Rally continues to gain traction. Sweden and the Netherlands further exemplify this trend. The Swedish Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots, are now the second-largest force in Swedish politics. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom recently secured a significant victory, forming one of the most right-wing governments in Dutch history. This phenomenon extends across the continent. From Finland’s nationalist coalition government to Hungary’s enduringly conservative leadership under Viktor Orbán, the shift to the right is undeniable. These movements thrive on anti-immigration rhetoric, Euroscepticism, and disillusionment with traditional political structures, much like the early 20th century’s fascist waves. As we approach critical elections, both in national contexts and within the European Parliament, the potential for these far-right factions to gain more power is high. The mainstream political parties' failure to adequately address the root causes of voter discontent only fuels this dangerous trend. If history teaches us anything, it is that ignoring these warning signs can have catastrophic consequences. #FarRightRising #PoliticalParallels #Trump #EuropePolitics #ImmigrationCrisis #HistoryRepeats #WakeUpCall #DemocracyAtRisk

Looks like Eastern European style with some Germanic organization and discipline. https://lnkd.in/dP9KxmA7

The US may have the world’s oldest continuous democracy, but postwar Germany fancies its version — initially built under American tutelage — to be the best fortified and most defensible (the German word is wehrhaft). How intriguing, then, that both democracies are now having almost parallel debates about how to deal with the clash of populism and law, majoritarian democracy and constitutional liberalism. The underlying question is how to preserve any republic in the short term as well as the long. Everything about the Federal Republic since 1949 was meant to guarantee that it would never fail as the Weimar Republic did in 1933 when it succumbed to Adolf Hitler. In recent years, some Germans — with a wary eye on the American demagogue Donald Trump — even came to think of their own post-traumatic hypervigilance as a psychological advantage relative to the overconfidence of American exceptionalism. That self-assurance is now largely gone. The angst is about the Alternative for Germany, abbreviated AfD in German... [Read the whole column] Bloomberg Opinion #afd https://bit.ly/3HBz9FM

When the Berlin Wall fell. In one of modern history’s most miraculous occurrences, communism imploded–and not with a bang, but with a whimper. Now two of the foremost scholars of East European and Soviet affairs, Stephen Kotkin and Jan T. Gross, drawing upon two decades of reflection, revisit this crash. In a crisp, concise, unsentimental narrative, they employ three case studies–East Germany, Romania, and Poland–to illuminate what led Communist regimes to surrender, or to be swept away in political bank runs. This is less a story of dissidents, so-called civil society, than of the bankruptcy of a ruling class–communism’s establishment, or “uncivil society.” The Communists borrowed from the West like drunken sailors to buy mass consumer goods, then were unable to pay back the hard-currency debts and so borrowed even more. In Eastern Europe, communism came to resemble a Ponzi scheme, one whose implosion carries enduring lessons. From East Germany’s pseudotechnocracy to Romania’s megalomaniacal dystopia, from Communist Poland’s cult of Mary to the Kremlin’s surprise restraint, Kotkin and Gross pull back the curtain on the fraud and decadence that cashiered the would-be alternative to the market and democracy, an outcome that opened up to a deeper global integration that has proved destabilizing.

We are witnessing a Berlin Wall moment in America. The darkness of East Berlin is where traditional Democrat voters have been trapped, reliant on the government for minimum sustenance, and the MSM slavishly carrying its water. The Glasnost of 2024 is what happened when the government media censorship project was exposed and the DHS "Disinformation Governance Board" was impaired. The letter networks are Pravda. The imploding newspaper industry in America is Isvestia. Ronald Reagan has been replaced by Donald Trump. Pope JP II and Margaret Thatcher have been replaced by Elon Musk (speaking figuratively, not equating him to a holy figure) and Elise Stefanik. We are now discovering, like the former Soviet Union, that the DEEP STATE is a paper tiger with no popular support. We also know our Federal Government is now an Oligarchy, just like it existed before the fall of the USSR. P.O.C. and patriotic Americans now stand upon that wall as it crumbles like in 1989. What a glorious day in America. Now, we MUST TEAR DOWN THIS WALL relentlessly until it lies in rubble and sweep it into the dustbin of history. @newsmax #freedom #endtyranny #corruptfbi #corruptdoj #revolution #2024is1776 #colorblind #love #peace

World History: On March 23, 1933, a pivotal moment unfolded as the Reichstag, the German parliament, passed the Enabling Act of 1933. This act granted Chancellor Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers, effectively consolidating his authority over Germany. The enactment of this law marked a significant turning point in history, leading to the establishment of totalitarian rule and the erosion of democratic principles in Germany. It serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of safeguarding democratic institutions and the consequences of unchecked power. 🌍🇩🇪 #EnablingAct1933 HaJunk - Business Development

Today in Britain’s World, Joshua Huminski analyses the challenges Europe will face in its dealings with America regardless of if Trump returns to power. ‘Europe also needs to accelerate efforts to develop and retain a measure of independence or “strategic autonomy” when it comes to Ukraine, but also continental security more broadly.’ You can read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gdXHCG8Y #BritainsWorld #Europe #Trump #America

After having spent two days in Brussels and numerous conversations with representatives of the Commission, the European Parliament and civil society, I can report that Germany’s reputation as a reliable partner in Europe has taken a serious hit. The new tendency to cast a so-called German vote and to abstain from important decisions, has diminished our government’s influence. Majority’s are being sought by including other countries, as the current ruling coalition in Berlin does not seem to be able to take decisions on the European stage and stick to them. Liberal voices have voiced concerns that a second von der Leyen Commission might rather rely on the Italian government under Meloni than on the shaky traffic light coalition that Chancellor Schulz is currently running - or rather not, as it seems. For European politics, this would mean a shift to the populist right. My take away message from this trip to Brussels is, that our government should get their act together, rather than squabble. Will Scholz, Lindner and Habeck be able to resolve their differences internally rather than damaging Germany’s image in Europe? I certainly hope so - and with me, many Europeans.