For France’s venerable Socialist Party, languishing at 4% support before next year’s presidential elections, news of a surprise win last Sunday by its center-left counterpart in Germany offered a glimmer of hope.

The slim victory by Olaf Scholz and Germany’s Social Democratic Party, along with the expected return to power of Norway’s Labor Party following a recent win, have underscored the recent success of Europe’s long-embattled social democrats. If Scholz succeeds in forming a government, social democrats in Europe’s most powerful nation will join center-left governments in Spain, Portugal and the Nordic nations of Sweden, Denmark and Finland, as well as Norway.

Attention will then turn to France, where presidential elections are scheduled for next April. But in France, experts say, the social democrats’ hopes of a continentwide revival are likely to dim.

Socialist Party officials were nevertheless quick to seize on the German results as a sign that Europe’s political tides may be turning.

“Never assume the battle’s already lost,” the Socialists’ leader, Olivier Faure, said in a Twitter post. The party’s presidential candidate, Anne Hidalgo, noted that Scholz “had beaten the odds” thanks to policies common to both social democratic parties.

But it will take more than that to reverse the fortunes of a party that not so long ago utterly dominated French politics.

After months of hinting that she would run for president, Hidalgo, 62, the second-term mayor of Paris, finally announced her candidacy in mid-September. But instead of getting an expected bounce in the polls, her approval ratings have drifted lower.

Her polling is now far below not only the two favorites to meet in a showdown — President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, of the far-right National Rally — but also well below candidates from the center-right and Éric Zemmour, a writer and TV star known for his far-right views, who is not yet an official candidate.

On the other side of the political spectrum, she trails the far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon and is neck and neck with the newly designated presidential candidate of the Greens, Yannick Jadot, polls show.

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/even-as-activists-accuse-country-of-illegal-deportation-greek-pm-says-essentially-crushed-migrant-smugglers-417461">Even as activists accuse country of illegal deportation, Greek PM says 'essentially crushed' migrant smugglers</a>

The Socialists’ collapse is even more noteworthy because, less than a decade ago, under the Socialist President François Hollande, the party controlled the Élysée Palace, both chambers of Parliament, a majority of big cities and nearly all the regions.

“Nine years ago, this party held all the cards,” said Pascal Delwit, a political scientist specializing in social democracy at the Free University of Brussels. “Nine years later, it has none.”

In what became a symbol of its fall, the Socialist Party had to abandon its longtime headquarters, in one of the toniest neighborhoods of Paris, for cheaper real estate in a suburb, or banlieue, that many members never bothered visiting.

Alain Bergounioux, a historian who is an expert on the Socialist Party, said that beyond crumbling at the ballot box, Socialists seem to have lost the ability to push forward their ideas and themes in a fast-moving political landscape.

“They really don’t influence the national debate any longer, as public opinion has shifted to the right,” Bergounioux said.

He added, “If it was premature to say that social democracy was dead, it would be overstating it to say that there is a renaissance.”

Seven months before the presidential elections, issues dear to the right — like immigration, crime and national identity — are dominating the political discourse. While Macron ran as a centrist in 2017, he has tacked right in a bid for the biggest slice of the electorate.

The focus on these themes has only increased in recent weeks, with the intense news media attention on a possible candidacy by Zemmour. Styling himself as a Trump-like populist outsider, he has been visiting different regions on a book tour that has doubled as a campaign. A poll released this week showed that his support among potential voters in the first round of the elections has kept climbing, to 13%, or just 3 percentage points below Le Pen.

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/artificial-intelligence-completes-beethovens-unfinished-tenth-symphony-417463">Artificial intelligence completes Beethoven's unfinished tenth symphony</a>

France is an extreme, though revealing, example of the problems afflicting social democratic parties across Europe, experts say.

While social democratic parties have lost support nearly everywhere amid the political fragmentation on the continent, France’s Socialist Party was also decimated by Macron’s successful creation of his centrist La République en Marche party. Some Socialist leaders abandoned their old party to join Macron, who had served as Hollande’s economy minister. In forming his government, Macron also poached from the center-right, which was less weakened than the center-left and remains a force in French politics.

For decades, social democratic parties appealed to a core base of unionized, industrial workers and urban professionals with a vision of social justice and an equitable economy.

But many longtime French supporters felt betrayed by Hollande’s business-friendly policies as French Socialists, like their counterparts elsewhere, were unable to protect their traditional base from globalization.

While French Socialists hark back to their traditional values and now emphasize their commitment to the environment, their vision for society lacks a “strong spine,” Bergounioux said. In France, like elsewhere, the constituencies supporting social democratic parties tend to be made up of “aging, loyal voters who have voted for them their entire lives,” Delwit said.

In Germany and elsewhere in Europe, the recent success of social democratic parties rested on successful jockeying — and not on the attraction of a fresh social democratic vision, experts said.

Ernst Stetter, a member of the Social Democratic Party in Germany and former secretary-general of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies, an umbrella group of social democratic think tanks across the continent, said the party’s victory last Sunday was “first and foremost a strategic victory” by Scholz.

As vice chancellor and finance minister in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Scholz offered “change in continuity by offering a little bit more social programs, a little bit more on the environment and continuity in European and international affairs,” said Stetter, who is also an analyst at the Fondation Jean-Jaurès research institute in Paris.

Narrow as it was, Scholz’s victory represented “the center of the Social Democratic Party, not the left,” said Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a French-German politician and former Green member of the European Parliament.

Socialists in Spain, Portugal and the Nordic nations also owed their success to responding to local needs, not a common vision of social democracy, Cohn-Bendit said.

“On immigration policy, social democrats in Denmark are to the right of many centrist parties,” Cohn-Bendit said, referring to a series of hard-line immigration measures adopted by Denmark’s Social Democrats.

Following years of a rise in right-wing parties, social democrats now lead governments in Sweden, Finland and Denmark, and are poised to do so in Norway. But their hold on power is far more tenuous than in the past.

In Norway, the Labor Party, led by Jonas Gahr Stoere, came in first in last month’s parliamentary election, but won only a little more than one-quarter of the total seats, one of the party’s lowest scores on record. After talks to form a broad center-left coalition failed in recent days, Stoere is now expected to become prime minister of a minority government.

“There isn’t a new definition yet of what social democracy could be in today’s world,” Cohn-Bendit said.

Stetter said he, too, was skeptical of a broad revival of social democracy. Over the past decade, social democrats had worked unsuccessfully for a revival under the banner of the “Next Left,” he said.

Still, Stetter said he hoped that last Sunday’s election results in Germany could presage positive developments for social democrats in Europe.

“If Scholz succeeds in forming a government as a social democratic chancellor, there would be a dynamic force at the heart of Europe, and that could give energy to the French Socialist Party in the campaign period before the presidential elections in April,” Stetter said. “We have to remain optimistic.”

For France’s venerable Socialist Party, languishing at 4% support before next year’s presidential elections, news of a surprise win last Sunday by its center-left counterpart in Germany offered a glimmer of hope.

For France’s venerable Socialist Party, languishing at 4% support before next year’s presidential elections, news of a surprise win last Sunday by its center-left counterpart in Germany offered a glimmer of hope. The slim victory by Olaf Scholz and Germany’s Social Democratic Party, along with the expected return to power of Norway’s Labor Party following a recent win, have underscored the recent success of Europe’s long-embattled social democrats. If Scholz succeeds in forming a government, social democrats in Europe’s most powerful nation will join center-left governments in Spain, Portugal and the Nordic nations of Sweden, Denmark and Finland, as well as Norway. Attention will then turn to France, where presidential elections are scheduled for next April. But in France, experts say, the social democrats’ hopes of a continentwide revival are likely to dim. Socialist Party officials were nevertheless quick to seize on the German results as a sign that Europe’s political tides may be turning. “Never assume the battle’s already lost,” the Socialists’ leader, Olivier Faure, said in a Twitter post. The party’s presidential candidate, Anne Hidalgo, noted that Scholz “had beaten the odds” thanks to policies common to both social democratic parties. But it will take more than that to reverse the fortunes of a party that not so long ago utterly dominated French politics. After months of hinting that she would run for president, Hidalgo, 62, the second-term mayor of Paris, finally announced her candidacy in mid-September. But instead of getting an expected bounce in the polls, her approval ratings have drifted lower. Her polling is now far below not only the two favorites to meet in a showdown — President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, of the far-right National Rally — but also well below candidates from the center-right and Éric Zemmour, a writer and TV star known for his far-right views, who is not yet an official candidate. On the other side of the political spectrum, she trails the far-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon and is neck and neck with the newly designated presidential candidate of the Greens, Yannick Jadot, polls show. ALSO READ | Even as activists accuse country of illegal deportation, Greek PM says 'essentially crushed' migrant smugglers The Socialists’ collapse is even more noteworthy because, less than a decade ago, under the Socialist President François Hollande, the party controlled the Élysée Palace, both chambers of Parliament, a majority of big cities and nearly all the regions. “Nine years ago, this party held all the cards,” said Pascal Delwit, a political scientist specializing in social democracy at the Free University of Brussels. “Nine years later, it has none.” In what became a symbol of its fall, the Socialist Party had to abandon its longtime headquarters, in one of the toniest neighborhoods of Paris, for cheaper real estate in a suburb, or banlieue, that many members never bothered visiting. Alain Bergounioux, a historian who is an expert on the Socialist Party, said that beyond crumbling at the ballot box, Socialists seem to have lost the ability to push forward their ideas and themes in a fast-moving political landscape. “They really don’t influence the national debate any longer, as public opinion has shifted to the right,” Bergounioux said. He added, “If it was premature to say that social democracy was dead, it would be overstating it to say that there is a renaissance.” Seven months before the presidential elections, issues dear to the right — like immigration, crime and national identity — are dominating the political discourse. While Macron ran as a centrist in 2017, he has tacked right in a bid for the biggest slice of the electorate. The focus on these themes has only increased in recent weeks, with the intense news media attention on a possible candidacy by Zemmour. Styling himself as a Trump-like populist outsider, he has been visiting different regions on a book tour that has doubled as a campaign. A poll released this week showed that his support among potential voters in the first round of the elections has kept climbing, to 13%, or just 3 percentage points below Le Pen. ALSO READ | Artificial intelligence completes Beethoven's unfinished tenth symphony France is an extreme, though revealing, example of the problems afflicting social democratic parties across Europe, experts say. While social democratic parties have lost support nearly everywhere amid the political fragmentation on the continent, France’s Socialist Party was also decimated by Macron’s successful creation of his centrist La République en Marche party. Some Socialist leaders abandoned their old party to join Macron, who had served as Hollande’s economy minister. In forming his government, Macron also poached from the center-right, which was less weakened than the center-left and remains a force in French politics. For decades, social democratic parties appealed to a core base of unionized, industrial workers and urban professionals with a vision of social justice and an equitable economy. But many longtime French supporters felt betrayed by Hollande’s business-friendly policies as French Socialists, like their counterparts elsewhere, were unable to protect their traditional base from globalization. While French Socialists hark back to their traditional values and now emphasize their commitment to the environment, their vision for society lacks a “strong spine,” Bergounioux said. In France, like elsewhere, the constituencies supporting social democratic parties tend to be made up of “aging, loyal voters who have voted for them their entire lives,” Delwit said. In Germany and elsewhere in Europe, the recent success of social democratic parties rested on successful jockeying — and not on the attraction of a fresh social democratic vision, experts said. Ernst Stetter, a member of the Social Democratic Party in Germany and former secretary-general of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies, an umbrella group of social democratic think tanks across the continent, said the party’s victory last Sunday was “first and foremost a strategic victory” by Scholz. As vice chancellor and finance minister in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Scholz offered “change in continuity by offering a little bit more social programs, a little bit more on the environment and continuity in European and international affairs,” said Stetter, who is also an analyst at the Fondation Jean-Jaurès research institute in Paris. Narrow as it was, Scholz’s victory represented “the center of the Social Democratic Party, not the left,” said Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a French-German politician and former Green member of the European Parliament. Socialists in Spain, Portugal and the Nordic nations also owed their success to responding to local needs, not a common vision of social democracy, Cohn-Bendit said. “On immigration policy, social democrats in Denmark are to the right of many centrist parties,” Cohn-Bendit said, referring to a series of hard-line immigration measures adopted by Denmark’s Social Democrats. Following years of a rise in right-wing parties, social democrats now lead governments in Sweden, Finland and Denmark, and are poised to do so in Norway. But their hold on power is far more tenuous than in the past. In Norway, the Labor Party, led by Jonas Gahr Stoere, came in first in last month’s parliamentary election, but won only a little more than one-quarter of the total seats, one of the party’s lowest scores on record. After talks to form a broad center-left coalition failed in recent days, Stoere is now expected to become prime minister of a minority government. “There isn’t a new definition yet of what social democracy could be in today’s world,” Cohn-Bendit said. Stetter said he, too, was skeptical of a broad revival of social democracy. Over the past decade, social democrats had worked unsuccessfully for a revival under the banner of the “Next Left,” he said. Still, Stetter said he hoped that last Sunday’s election results in Germany could presage positive developments for social democrats in Europe. “If Scholz succeeds in forming a government as a social democratic chancellor, there would be a dynamic force at the heart of Europe, and that could give energy to the French Socialist Party in the campaign period before the presidential elections in April,” Stetter said. “We have to remain optimistic.”

Europe’s social democrats show signs of life, but France poses a roadblock

In a crackdown on accounts spreading COVID-19 misinformation, Facebook removed a series of such accounts days before Germany’s federal elections. &nbsp;

These accounts were also encouraging violent responses to Covid restrictions. &nbsp;

The crackdown, which was announced on September 16, was the first action taken according to the Facebook’s new “coordinated social harm” policy. It aims to stop disinformation campaigns.&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cnn-pulls-out-of-facebook-in-australia-citing-defamation-risk-416879" hreflang="en">CNN pulls out of Facebook in Australia, citing defamation risk</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

In Germany, around 150 accounts, pages and groups were linked to 'Querdenken' movement, a group that protests lockdown measures in the country. &nbsp;

While far-right users called it censorship, Facebook pushed it as an innovative response to potentially harmful content. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-youtube-bans-rt-due-to-multiple-violations-russia-threatens-to-ban-video-platform-416785" hreflang="en">After YouTube bans RT due to multiple violations, Russia threatens to ban video platform</a>

Earlier, Facebook also announced various new efforts to combat climate crisis misinformation on its platform. &nbsp;&nbsp;

These included expanding its climate science centre to provide more reliable information, investing in organisations that fight misinformation and launching a video series to highlight young climate advocates on both Facebook and Instagram.

Watch:&nbsp;

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However, as per critics, the push falls short and will allow vast amounts of climate misinformation to slip through the cracks. &nbsp;

During the 2021 April congressional hearing, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg admitted that climate misinformation is “a big issue”. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

In a crackdown on accounts spreading COVID-19 misinformation, Facebook removed a series of such accounts days before Germany’s federal elections. These accounts were also encouraging violent responses to Covid restrictions.

In a crackdown on accounts spreading COVID-19 misinformation, Facebook removed a series of such accounts days before Germany’s federal elections. These accounts were also encouraging violent responses to Covid restrictions. The crackdown, which was announced on September 16, was the first action taken according to the Facebook’s new “coordinated social harm” policy. It aims to stop disinformation campaigns. Also Read: CNN pulls out of Facebook in Australia, citing defamation risk In Germany, around 150 accounts, pages and groups were linked to 'Querdenken' movement, a group that protests lockdown measures in the country. While far-right users called it censorship, Facebook pushed it as an innovative response to potentially harmful content. Also Read: After YouTube bans RT due to multiple violations, Russia threatens to ban video platform Earlier, Facebook also announced various new efforts to combat climate crisis misinformation on its platform. These included expanding its climate science centre to provide more reliable information, investing in organisations that fight misinformation and launching a video series to highlight young climate advocates on both Facebook and Instagram. Watch: × However, as per critics, the push falls short and will allow vast amounts of climate misinformation to slip through the cracks. During the 2021 April congressional hearing, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg admitted that climate misinformation is “a big issue”. (With inputs from agencies)

In a crackdown, Facebook axed accounts spreading Covid misinformation in Germany before polls

Angela Merkel and his main rival have congratulated Olaf Scholz on his weekend election win as he hopes to form a coalition that will make him Germany’s next chancellor.

Germany: Angela Merkel congratulates Olaf Scholz on election success

Germany is headed for weeks, if not months, of protracted coalition haggling as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives insisted on Sept. 27 on trying to form a government even after losing to the Social Democrats in a tight race. Watch this report for more details.

Germany in political limbo after SPD narrow win

In an exclusive conversation with WION, Ambassador Gurjit Singh, former Indian envoy shares his assessment over Germany's government formation, listen in.

Who will succeed Angela Merkel? Indian ambassador Gurjit Singh shares his assessment

&nbsp;India is becoming an important country for Germany in the Indo-Pacific region and the next coalition government in Berlin is expected to continue strong ties with New Delhi, German Ambassador Walter J Lindner said on Monday.

He said relations between India and Germany saw a significant upswing including in areas of trade and investment in the last over one decade and that the upward trajectory in ties is likely to continue.

"None of the global issues can be solved without India, be it climate change, global warming, trade issues, COVID-19 vaccination and terrorism...India is important for us," he told reporters.

His comments came as a new coalition government is expected to take the reins in Berlin following the parliamentary elections.

According to reports, Social Democrats (SPD) was ahead of the ruling conservative bloc of Angela Merkel in the federal elections.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/not-over-till-its-over-gruelling-coalition-talks-await-post-merkel-germany-after-polls-416326">Not over till it's over: Gruelling coalition talks await post-Merkel Germany after polls</a>

The federal elections marked the end of Merkel's 16-year tenure as the German Chancellor, a period that saw significant expansion of India-Germany ties. Merkel has already announced that she will not seek a fresh term at the helm of the country.

"The Indo-Pacific is becoming more and more important and India has emerged as a major player in the region," the German envoy said.

On Afghanistan, he said there was a need to address the need for humanitarian assistance in the country.

Referring to the Taliban's takeover of Kabul, he said the world community failed to properly predict the speed with which the group took over the country.

India is becoming an important country for Germany in the Indo-Pacific region and the next coalition government in Berlin is expected to continue strong ties with New Delhi, German Ambassador Walter J Lindner said on Monday.

India is becoming an important country for Germany in the Indo-Pacific region and the next coalition government in Berlin is expected to continue strong ties with New Delhi, German Ambassador Walter J Lindner said on Monday. He said relations between India and Germany saw a significant upswing including in areas of trade and investment in the last over one decade and that the upward trajectory in ties is likely to continue. "None of the global issues can be solved without India, be it climate change, global warming, trade issues, COVID-19 vaccination and terrorism...India is important for us," he told reporters. His comments came as a new coalition government is expected to take the reins in Berlin following the parliamentary elections. According to reports, Social Democrats (SPD) was ahead of the ruling conservative bloc of Angela Merkel in the federal elections. Also read | Not over till it's over: Gruelling coalition talks await post-Merkel Germany after polls The federal elections marked the end of Merkel's 16-year tenure as the German Chancellor, a period that saw significant expansion of India-Germany ties. Merkel has already announced that she will not seek a fresh term at the helm of the country. "The Indo-Pacific is becoming more and more important and India has emerged as a major player in the region," the German envoy said. On Afghanistan, he said there was a need to address the need for humanitarian assistance in the country. Referring to the Taliban's takeover of Kabul, he said the world community failed to properly predict the speed with which the group took over the country.

New German govt expected to continue strong ties with India: German envoy

Social democrats beat Merkel's bloc Narrow victory for social democrats End of 16-year long Merkel rule Germany set for three-way coalition?

WION Live Broadcast: End of 16-year long Merkel rule

Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD, as per German name) registered a narrow victory in German federal elections 2021. SPD's Olaf Scholz's image has got a big boost as compared to Armin Laschet who was favoured face of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel's CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/ Christian Social Union) alliance could not repeat its performance in 2017 elections and lost ground to other parties.

Here is the vote share of main parties as per preliminary official results

SPD (Centre-left): 25.7 per cent 
CDU/CSU (Centre-right): 24.1 per cent 
Green Party (Pro-environment): 14.8 per cent 
Free Democratic Party (FDP) (Pro-business): 11.5 per cent 
Alternative for Germany (AfD) (Far right): 10.3 per cent

Final official results will be published in a few weeks.

The Green Party registered their best performance yet. Though its candidate for chancellery Annalena Baerbock may not become chancellor, the party may prove to be a kingmaker. Green Party's performance shows that voters were concerned about environmental issues like Climate Change.

Since the difference of votes between SPD and CDU/CSU is not too large, it can be said at present that both parties have a chance to form a government but with help from smaller parties. Neither of these parties has a majority on their own.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/german-spd-secretary-general-says-we-have-mandate-to-govern-416203">German SPD secretary-general says, 'we have mandate to govern'</a>

Neither the SPD nor the CDU-CSU want a repeat of the left-right "grand coalition" that has featured in three of Merkel's four governments.&nbsp;

Both, CDU and SPD have claimed that they have got a mandate to form government and lead the coalition as senior partner.

<img alt="Armin Laschet" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="4c574601-bd7a-482f-8e24-398bf707605b" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Laschet.JPG" />

(Armin Laschet, CDU/CSU candidate for the post of chancellor)

Although parties are now trying to stitch up a coalition, all of them have refused to include far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) among them.

Polls over, what next?

German chancellor is elected by members of parliament from themselves. However, election for chancellor will not take place right away. Ruling coalition must be formed first. The negotiations could take weeks.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/german-federal-elections-2021-what-you-need-to-know-about-race-for-chancellor-416151">German federal elections 2021: What you need to know about race for chancellor</a>

This time, it seems very likely that a three-party coalition will form the government. If it happens, it will be departure from post-Second World War tradition of two-party coalition governments.

When the ruling coalition is formed, the partners will draft coalition agreement. It is in this agreement that the coalition partners will name new chancellor who will then be elected by vote in the parliament.

Decrease in CDU/CSU vote share

CDU/CSU bloc's vote share fell below 30 per cent for the first time in seven decades. Though Angela Merkel remains Germany's most popular politician, it remains to be seen whether her relative absence from campaigning had any effect on decrease in vote share.

She had supported Armin Lachet to be Germany's next chancellor. Laschet even had high approval ratings months before election. But series of blunders saw his popularity wane. These include getting caught on camera laughing in a ceremony to honour those who lost lives in Germany's recent floods.

In contrast, Olaf Scholz ran an error-free campaign that saw his approval ratings rise than what they were at the start of the race.

Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD, as per German name) registered a narrow victory in German federal elections 2021. SPD's Olaf Scholz's image has got a big boost as compared to Armin Laschet who was favoured face of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD, as per German name) registered a narrow victory in German federal elections 2021. SPD's Olaf Scholz's image has got a big boost as compared to Armin Laschet who was favoured face of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel's CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/ Christian Social Union) alliance could not repeat its performance in 2017 elections and lost ground to other parties. Here is the vote share of main parties as per preliminary official results SPD (Centre-left): 25.7 per cent CDU/CSU (Centre-right): 24.1 per cent Green Party (Pro-environment): 14.8 per cent Free Democratic Party (FDP) (Pro-business): 11.5 per cent Alternative for Germany (AfD) (Far right): 10.3 per cent Final official results will be published in a few weeks. The Green Party registered their best performance yet. Though its candidate for chancellery Annalena Baerbock may not become chancellor, the party may prove to be a kingmaker. Green Party's performance shows that voters were concerned about environmental issues like Climate Change. Since the difference of votes between SPD and CDU/CSU is not too large, it can be said at present that both parties have a chance to form a government but with help from smaller parties. Neither of these parties has a majority on their own. Also Read | German SPD secretary-general says, 'we have mandate to govern' Neither the SPD nor the CDU-CSU want a repeat of the left-right "grand coalition" that has featured in three of Merkel's four governments. Both, CDU and SPD have claimed that they have got a mandate to form government and lead the coalition as senior partner. (Armin Laschet, CDU/CSU candidate for the post of chancellor) Although parties are now trying to stitch up a coalition, all of them have refused to include far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) among them. Polls over, what next? German chancellor is elected by members of parliament from themselves. However, election for chancellor will not take place right away. Ruling coalition must be formed first. The negotiations could take weeks. Also Read | German federal elections 2021: What you need to know about race for chancellor This time, it seems very likely that a three-party coalition will form the government. If it happens, it will be departure from post-Second World War tradition of two-party coalition governments. When the ruling coalition is formed, the partners will draft coalition agreement. It is in this agreement that the coalition partners will name new chancellor who will then be elected by vote in the parliament. Decrease in CDU/CSU vote share CDU/CSU bloc's vote share fell below 30 per cent for the first time in seven decades. Though Angela Merkel remains Germany's most popular politician, it remains to be seen whether her relative absence from campaigning had any effect on decrease in vote share. She had supported Armin Lachet to be Germany's next chancellor. Laschet even had high approval ratings months before election. But series of blunders saw his popularity wane. These include getting caught on camera laughing in a ceremony to honour those who lost lives in Germany's recent floods. In contrast, Olaf Scholz ran an error-free campaign that saw his approval ratings rise than what they were at the start of the race.

Not over till it's over: Gruelling coalition talks await post-Merkel Germany after polls

Lars Klingbeil, secretary-general German Social Democrat said the exit polls on Sunday (September 26) put his party ahead as they have the mandate to form a coalition despite polls showing the SPD neck and neck with outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc.&nbsp;

"We have fought our way back as the SPD, the SPD is back, the SPD clearly has the mandate to govern," Klingbeil told public broadcaster ZDF. He added that the SPD's "Olaf Scholz should become chancellor"

On the other hand, Armin Laschet, the conservative candidate to succeed Merkel as chancellor, said that he still aimed to head Germany's next coalition government.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hillary-clinton-called-war-criminal-as-she-becomes-chancellor-of-queens-university-416187">Hillary Clinton called 'war criminal' as she becomes Chancellor of Queen's University</a>

"We will do everything we can to build a government led by the (conservative) Union," Laschet told supporters in Berlin, adding that the vote outcome "is still totally unclear," he said.&nbsp;

The Green party has enjoyed a surge in support earlier this year after naming 40-year-old Annalena Baerbock as its chancellor candidate, at one point even briefly taking the lead as the most popular party.

Previously,&nbsp;Laschet signalled he could still try to form a coalition even if the CDU-CSU do not come first, most likely calling on the Greens and the liberal FDP for support.

<img alt="German elections" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bfe02a6e-e680-49e7-8a00-e037d2922e2f" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/WION%20%2811%29.jpg" />

Image: Supporters of the Greens party react after the announcement of the first exit poll results on the general elections in Berlin, Germany, September 26, 2021. Source: Reuters

As per the surveys, which were published on public television after polling stations were closed, Merkel's CDU-CSU bloc and their candidate Laschet with around 24-25 per cent of the vote.

They were nearly tied with the Social Democrats on 25-26 per cent, giving a tough fight.&nbsp;

It is important to note that given the high proportion of voters who mailed in their ballot, the final results could still turn up surprises in what is the most unpredictable election for Europe's biggest economy in decades.

(With inputs from agencies)

Lars Klingbeil, secretary-general German Social Democrat said the exit polls on Sunday (September 26) put his party ahead as they have the mandate to form a coalition despite polls showing the SPD neck and neck with outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc.

Lars Klingbeil, secretary-general German Social Democrat said the exit polls on Sunday (September 26) put his party ahead as they have the mandate to form a coalition despite polls showing the SPD neck and neck with outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc. "We have fought our way back as the SPD, the SPD is back, the SPD clearly has the mandate to govern," Klingbeil told public broadcaster ZDF. He added that the SPD's "Olaf Scholz should become chancellor" On the other hand, Armin Laschet, the conservative candidate to succeed Merkel as chancellor, said that he still aimed to head Germany's next coalition government. ALSO READ | Hillary Clinton called 'war criminal' as she becomes Chancellor of Queen's University "We will do everything we can to build a government led by the (conservative) Union," Laschet told supporters in Berlin, adding that the vote outcome "is still totally unclear," he said. The Green party has enjoyed a surge in support earlier this year after naming 40-year-old Annalena Baerbock as its chancellor candidate, at one point even briefly taking the lead as the most popular party. Previously, Laschet signalled he could still try to form a coalition even if the CDU-CSU do not come first, most likely calling on the Greens and the liberal FDP for support. Image: Supporters of the Greens party react after the announcement of the first exit poll results on the general elections in Berlin, Germany, September 26, 2021. Source: Reuters As per the surveys, which were published on public television after polling stations were closed, Merkel's CDU-CSU bloc and their candidate Laschet with around 24-25 per cent of the vote. They were nearly tied with the Social Democrats on 25-26 per cent, giving a tough fight. It is important to note that given the high proportion of voters who mailed in their ballot, the final results could still turn up surprises in what is the most unpredictable election for Europe's biggest economy in decades. (With inputs from agencies)

German SPD secretary-general says, 'we have mandate to govern'

The fight to succeed popular, long-serving chancellor Angela Merkel could barely be tighter as Germans go to the polls in parliamentary elections. Watch this report for more details.

Germany: Outcome uncertain, coalition government likely

As Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to step down from the political stage and Germans vote in&nbsp;federal (Bundestag) elections,&nbsp;all bets appear to be off as to who will be the next chancellor.

The contest, which once seemed clear, now appears to be close. So much so that Merkel, who had initially preferred to stay away from the campaign fray, had to enter the field to shore up ratings for her would-be successor Armin Laschet. This time the Bundestag is expected to expand more than its minimum size of 598 seats.

Here's a look at who is in the race to be next chancellor of Germany

Armin Laschet (Party: CDU/CSU)

<img alt="Armin Laschet" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7a4f5d0b-89d5-490b-9a35-0eb1a79740ac" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9NJ9TE.jpg" />

Armin Laschet (60) enjoys support from Angela Merkel to be the next chancellor of Germany. He is Merkel's party colleague within Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU). He is Minister-President of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia region.

Laschet's&nbsp;approval ratings were high in months leading to German election but series of blunders saw his popularity wane. These included getting caught on camera laughing in the background during a tribute to the victims of the recent devastating floods in Germany.

Merkel herself had to enter the campaign fray to shore-up support for her favoured candidate.

Olaf Scholz (Party: SPD)

<img alt="Olaf Scholz" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fd63303f-3f84-454c-95c8-1763f61ccb60" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9NG2X2.jpg" />

Olaf Scholz (63) is the current vice-chacellor and finance minister of Germany. He belongs to Social Democratic Party (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands or SPD).

His approval ratings were low at the start of the race but rose as he avoided making embarrassing mistakes like Laschet.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/farewell-angela-merkel-you-were-once-the-leader-of-the-free-world-415832">Farewell, Angela Merkel. You were once the ‘Leader of the Free World</a>

 
Annalena Baerbock (Green Party)

<img alt="Annalena Baerbock" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c16dedbc-e3be-497b-bafd-8ab648a10fe0" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9NG3D2.jpg" />

Annalena Baerbock is the chancellor candidate from Green Party. At one point, Baerbock even took lead as the most favourite candidate in opinion polls.

But after a series of missteps by Baerbock, including a plagiarism scandal, the Greens are now polling well behind the two leading parties on around 17 per cent.

While the chancellery may be out of reach for the party, it will likely have a role in Germany's next government.

How do German elections work?

<img alt="German elections" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="4d4091d1-0dc3-4ed9-93c3-769c060c4f55" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9NK273.jpg" />

Voters do not directly elect the chancellor. Elected members of the parliament decide who the chancellor will be from among them.

Each German voter has two votes. First vote decides who will represent a region in the parliament. Second vote elects the party and decides the makeup of the parliament. The party with the most votes gets to send more number of candidates to the parliament.

For example, if a party scores three direct seats through the first vote but is eligible for 10 seats overall through the second vote, seven more names on the party's candidate list (published before the elections)&nbsp;are also given seats. The candidate list published before the elections has candidates for each of the 16 states. Those higher on the list have better chance of securing a parliament seat.

A complication arises when the direct and party votes are out of balance because voters "split" their ballot. This happens when a voter votes for a candidate from a particular party but prefers a different party in his or her second vote.

This time, the Bundestag is expected to expand more than its minimum size of 598 seats as more voters are expected to split their votes.

This year, there are 47 political parties taking part in the elections.

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Opinion polls show the race for the chancellery is headed for a photo finish, with Merkel's CDU-CSU conservative alliance on around 23 per cent, just behind the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) at 25 per cent -- well within the margin of error.

Who can vote?

Individuals above 18 years of age, having German citizenship and having lived in the country for an uninterrupted period of at least three months are eligible to vote. Mail-in vote is allowed for Germans living abroad.&nbsp;

People who hold German passports but haven't lived in Germany for more than 25 years cannot vote.

As per German government's statistics, 60.4 million Germans are eligible to vote this time. There are 2.8 million first time voters. These are the voters who do not remember any chancellor other than Angela Merkel.

Voter participation four years ago stood at 76.2 percent, up nearly five points from 2013 and higher than in many other Western democracies.

This year, 33 per cent of the candidates for the Bundestag, which ultimately elects the chancellor, are female -- a post-war record.

When will the result be known?

After voting concludes at 1600 GMT (9:30 pm IST) on September 26, counting of votes will begin. The counting will continue well into the night.

Provisional results are expected on the morning of September 27. But official results won't be published until several weeks later.&nbsp;

How did things stand after 2017 elections?

Here is where things stood after the 2017 election:

Christian Democratic Union (CDU) / Christian Social Union (CSU): 32.9 percent - 246 seats

Social Democratic Party (SPD): 20.5 percent - 153 seats

Alternative for Germany (AfD): 12.6 percent - 94 seats

Free Democrats (FDP): 10.7 percent - 80 seats

Die Linke: 9.2 percent - 69 seats

Greens: 8.9 percent - 67 seats

(With inputs from agencies)

As Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to step down from the political stage and Germans vote in federal (Bundestag) elections, all bets appear to be off as to who will be the next chancellor.

As Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to step down from the political stage and Germans vote in federal (Bundestag) elections, all bets appear to be off as to who will be the next chancellor. The contest, which once seemed clear, now appears to be close. So much so that Merkel, who had initially preferred to stay away from the campaign fray, had to enter the field to shore up ratings for her would-be successor Armin Laschet. This time the Bundestag is expected to expand more than its minimum size of 598 seats. Here's a look at who is in the race to be next chancellor of Germany Armin Laschet (Party: CDU/CSU) Armin Laschet (60) enjoys support from Angela Merkel to be the next chancellor of Germany. He is Merkel's party colleague within Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU). He is Minister-President of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia region. Laschet's approval ratings were high in months leading to German election but series of blunders saw his popularity wane. These included getting caught on camera laughing in the background during a tribute to the victims of the recent devastating floods in Germany. Merkel herself had to enter the campaign fray to shore-up support for her favoured candidate. Olaf Scholz (Party: SPD) Olaf Scholz (63) is the current vice-chacellor and finance minister of Germany. He belongs to Social Democratic Party (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands or SPD). His approval ratings were low at the start of the race but rose as he avoided making embarrassing mistakes like Laschet. Also Read | Farewell, Angela Merkel. You were once the ‘Leader of the Free World Annalena Baerbock (Green Party) Annalena Baerbock is the chancellor candidate from Green Party. At one point, Baerbock even took lead as the most favourite candidate in opinion polls. But after a series of missteps by Baerbock, including a plagiarism scandal, the Greens are now polling well behind the two leading parties on around 17 per cent. While the chancellery may be out of reach for the party, it will likely have a role in Germany's next government. How do German elections work? Voters do not directly elect the chancellor. Elected members of the parliament decide who the chancellor will be from among them. Each German voter has two votes. First vote decides who will represent a region in the parliament. Second vote elects the party and decides the makeup of the parliament. The party with the most votes gets to send more number of candidates to the parliament. For example, if a party scores three direct seats through the first vote but is eligible for 10 seats overall through the second vote, seven more names on the party's candidate list (published before the elections) are also given seats. The candidate list published before the elections has candidates for each of the 16 states. Those higher on the list have better chance of securing a parliament seat. A complication arises when the direct and party votes are out of balance because voters "split" their ballot. This happens when a voter votes for a candidate from a particular party but prefers a different party in his or her second vote. This time, the Bundestag is expected to expand more than its minimum size of 598 seats as more voters are expected to split their votes. This year, there are 47 political parties taking part in the elections. × Opinion polls show the race for the chancellery is headed for a photo finish, with Merkel's CDU-CSU conservative alliance on around 23 per cent, just behind the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) at 25 per cent -- well within the margin of error. Who can vote? Individuals above 18 years of age, having German citizenship and having lived in the country for an uninterrupted period of at least three months are eligible to vote. Mail-in vote is allowed for Germans living abroad. People who hold German passports but haven't lived in Germany for more than 25 years cannot vote. As per German government's statistics, 60.4 million Germans are eligible to vote this time. There are 2.8 million first time voters. These are the voters who do not remember any chancellor other than Angela Merkel. Voter participation four years ago stood at 76.2 percent, up nearly five points from 2013 and higher than in many other Western democracies. This year, 33 per cent of the candidates for the Bundestag, which ultimately elects the chancellor, are female -- a post-war record. When will the result be known? After voting concludes at 1600 GMT (9:30 pm IST) on September 26, counting of votes will begin. The counting will continue well into the night. Provisional results are expected on the morning of September 27. But official results won't be published until several weeks later. How did things stand after 2017 elections? Here is where things stood after the 2017 election: Christian Democratic Union (CDU) / Christian Social Union (CSU): 32.9 percent - 246 seats Social Democratic Party (SPD): 20.5 percent - 153 seats Alternative for Germany (AfD): 12.6 percent - 94 seats Free Democrats (FDP): 10.7 percent - 80 seats Die Linke: 9.2 percent - 69 seats Greens: 8.9 percent - 67 seats (With inputs from agencies)

German federal elections 2021: What you need to know about race for chancellor

Polling station are open in Germany. Angela Merkel is leaving as the chancellor of Germany having served 16 years in German parliament.

Polling station open in Germany

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel will step down at the end of this year after serving 16 years as the head of Germany's government. Who will succeed her as the German chancellor?

Who will succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor? | WION English News

After Germans vote Sunday and a new government is formed, Chancellor Angela Merkel will leave office after 16 years as the dominant figure in European politics. It is the moment that French President Emmanuel Macron has been waiting for.

The German chancellor, although credited for navigating multiple crises, was long criticized for lacking strategic vision. Macron, whose more swaggering style has sometimes ruffled his European partners — and Washington — has put forward ideas for a more independent and integrated Europe, better able to act in its own defense and its own interests.

But as the Anglo-American “betrayal” in the Australian submarine affair has underscored, Macron sometimes possesses ambitions beyond his reach. Despite the vacuum Merkel leaves, a Macron era is unlikely to be born.

Instead, analysts say, the European Union is heading for a period of prolonged uncertainty and potential weakness, if not necessarily drift. No one figure — not even Macron or a new German chancellor — will be as influential as Merkel was at her strongest: an authoritative, well-briefed leader who quietly managed compromise and built consensus among a long list of louder and more ideological colleagues.

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That raises the prospect of paralysis or of Europe muddling through its challenges — on what to do about an increasingly indifferent America, on China and Russia, and on trade and technology — or even of a more dangerous fracturing of the bloc’s always tentative unity.

And it will mean that Macron, who is up for reelection in April and absorbed in that uncertain campaign, will need to wait for a German government that may not be in place until January or longer, and then work closely with a weaker German chancellor.

“We’ll have a weak German chancellor on top of a larger, less unified coalition,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe of the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. “A weaker chancellor is less capable of exerting influence in Europe, and then with the Macron election, the political cycles of these two key countries will not be in sync.”

The uncertainty is likely to last until after the French parliamentary elections in June — and that is presuming Macron wins.

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Macron has argued forcefully that Europe must do more to protect its own interests in a world where China is rising and the United States is focusing on Asia. His officials are already trying to prepare the ground on some key issues, looking forward to January, when France takes over the rotating EU presidency. But given the likelihood of lengthy coalition talks in Germany, the window for accomplishment is narrow.

Macron will need German help. While France and Germany together can no longer run the European Union by themselves, when they agree, they tend to bring the rest of the bloc along with them.

So building a relationship with the new German chancellor, even a weaker one, will be a primary goal for Macron. He must be careful, noted Daniela Schwarzer, executive director for Europe and Eurasia of the Open Societies Foundations, not to scare off the Germans.

“Macron’s leadership is disruptive, and the German style is to change institutions incrementally,” she said. “Both sides will need to think through how they make it possible for the other side to answer constructively.”

French officials understand that substantive change will be slow, and they will want to build on initiatives already underway, like the analysis of Europe’s interests called “the strategic compass” and a modest but steady increase in military spending on new capabilities through the new European Defense Fund and a program called Pesco, intended to promote joint projects and European interoperability.

After the humiliation of the scuttled submarine deal, when Australia suddenly canceled a contract with France and chose a deal with Britain and the United States instead, many of his European colleagues are more likely now to agree with Macron that Europe must be less dependent on Washington and spend at least a little more in its own defense.

Few in Europe, though, want to permanently damage ties with the Americans and NATO.

“Italy wants a stronger Europe, OK, but in NATO — we’re not on the French page on that,” said Marta Dassu, a former Italian deputy foreign minister and director of European affairs at the Aspen Institute.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, whose voice is respected in Brussels, believes strongly in the trans-Atlantic relationship, Dassu said, adding, “We’re closer to Germany than to France, but without all the ambiguities on Russia and China.”

France also wants to become more assertive using the economic and financial tools Europe already has, especially trade and technology, the officials say. The point, they say, is not to push too hard too fast, but to raise the European game vis-à-vis China and the United States, and try to encourage a culture that is comfortable with power.

But France’s German partners will be going through a period of uncertainty and transition. A new German chancellor is expected to win only one-quarter of the vote and may need to negotiate a coalition agreement among three political parties. That is expected to take at least until Christmas, if not longer.

The new chancellor will also need to get up to speed on European issues, which barely surfaced in the campaign, and build credibility as the newcomer among 26 other leaders.

“So it’s important now to start thinking of concrete French-German wins during a French presidency that Macron can use in a positive way in his campaign,” Schwarzer said. “Because Berlin does not want to ponder a scenario in which Macron loses” to far-right Marine Le Pen or in which euroskeptics like Matteo Salvini take over in Italy.

Whoever wins, German policy toward Europe will remain roughly the same from a country deeply committed to EU ideals, cautious and wanting to preserve stability and unity. The real question is whether any European leader can be the cohesive force Merkel was — and if not, what it will mean for the continent’s future.

“Merkel herself was important in keeping the EU together,” said Ulrich Speck of the German Marshall Fund. “She kept in mind the interests of so many in Europe, especially Central Europe but also Italy, so that everyone could be kept on board.”

Merkel saw the European Union as the core of her policy, said a senior European official, who called her the guardian of true EU values, willing to bend to keep the bloc together, as evidenced by her support for collective debt, previously a German red line, to fund the coronavirus recovery fund.

“Merkel acted as mediator when there have been a lot of centrifugal forces weakening Europe,” said Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, head of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund. “It’s less clear how the next chancellor will position himself or herself and Germany.”

Still, Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, noted that “whoever is the chancellor, Germany is still responsible for more than half of Chinese trade with Europe.” Germany is “vastly more important than the other countries on all the big issues, from how to handle China to the tech wars and climate change,” he said.

That means Macron “knows he has to channel German power behind his vision,” he said.

But French and Italian positions will be crucial, too, on important pending financial issues like fiscal and banking integration, trying to complete the single market and monitoring the pandemic recovery fund.

Merkel’s departure may provide an opportunity for the kinds of change Macron desires, even if in vastly scaled-down version. Merkel’s love of the status quo, some analysts argue, was anachronistic at a time when Europe faces so many challenges.

Perhaps most important is the looming debate about whether to alter Europe’s spending rules, which in practical terms means getting agreement from countries to spend more on everything, from defense to climate.

The real problem is that fundamental change would require a treaty change, said Guntram Wolff, director of Bruegel, a Brussels research institution. “You can’t have fiscal and defense integration by stealth,” he said. “It won’t have legitimacy and won’t be accepted by citizens.”

But the German election debates ignored these broad issues, he said.

“The sad news,” Wolff said, “is that none of the three chancellor candidates campaigned on any of this, so my baseline expectation is continued muddling forward.”

After Germans vote Sunday and a new government is formed, Chancellor Angela Merkel will leave office after 16 years as the dominant figure in European politics. It is the moment that French President Emmanuel Macron has been waiting for.

After Germans vote Sunday and a new government is formed, Chancellor Angela Merkel will leave office after 16 years as the dominant figure in European politics. It is the moment that French President Emmanuel Macron has been waiting for. The German chancellor, although credited for navigating multiple crises, was long criticized for lacking strategic vision. Macron, whose more swaggering style has sometimes ruffled his European partners — and Washington — has put forward ideas for a more independent and integrated Europe, better able to act in its own defense and its own interests. But as the Anglo-American “betrayal” in the Australian submarine affair has underscored, Macron sometimes possesses ambitions beyond his reach. Despite the vacuum Merkel leaves, a Macron era is unlikely to be born. Instead, analysts say, the European Union is heading for a period of prolonged uncertainty and potential weakness, if not necessarily drift. No one figure — not even Macron or a new German chancellor — will be as influential as Merkel was at her strongest: an authoritative, well-briefed leader who quietly managed compromise and built consensus among a long list of louder and more ideological colleagues. ALSO READ | Developing countries to soon receive their long-promised funds for tackling climate crisis That raises the prospect of paralysis or of Europe muddling through its challenges — on what to do about an increasingly indifferent America, on China and Russia, and on trade and technology — or even of a more dangerous fracturing of the bloc’s always tentative unity. And it will mean that Macron, who is up for reelection in April and absorbed in that uncertain campaign, will need to wait for a German government that may not be in place until January or longer, and then work closely with a weaker German chancellor. “We’ll have a weak German chancellor on top of a larger, less unified coalition,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe of the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. “A weaker chancellor is less capable of exerting influence in Europe, and then with the Macron election, the political cycles of these two key countries will not be in sync.” The uncertainty is likely to last until after the French parliamentary elections in June — and that is presuming Macron wins. ALSO READ | US: Gunman in deadly mass shooting at Kroger in Tennessee, identified as 29-year-old store vendor Macron has argued forcefully that Europe must do more to protect its own interests in a world where China is rising and the United States is focusing on Asia. His officials are already trying to prepare the ground on some key issues, looking forward to January, when France takes over the rotating EU presidency. But given the likelihood of lengthy coalition talks in Germany, the window for accomplishment is narrow. Macron will need German help. While France and Germany together can no longer run the European Union by themselves, when they agree, they tend to bring the rest of the bloc along with them. So building a relationship with the new German chancellor, even a weaker one, will be a primary goal for Macron. He must be careful, noted Daniela Schwarzer, executive director for Europe and Eurasia of the Open Societies Foundations, not to scare off the Germans. “Macron’s leadership is disruptive, and the German style is to change institutions incrementally,” she said. “Both sides will need to think through how they make it possible for the other side to answer constructively.” French officials understand that substantive change will be slow, and they will want to build on initiatives already underway, like the analysis of Europe’s interests called “the strategic compass” and a modest but steady increase in military spending on new capabilities through the new European Defense Fund and a program called Pesco, intended to promote joint projects and European interoperability. After the humiliation of the scuttled submarine deal, when Australia suddenly canceled a contract with France and chose a deal with Britain and the United States instead, many of his European colleagues are more likely now to agree with Macron that Europe must be less dependent on Washington and spend at least a little more in its own defense. Few in Europe, though, want to permanently damage ties with the Americans and NATO. “Italy wants a stronger Europe, OK, but in NATO — we’re not on the French page on that,” said Marta Dassu, a former Italian deputy foreign minister and director of European affairs at the Aspen Institute. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, whose voice is respected in Brussels, believes strongly in the trans-Atlantic relationship, Dassu said, adding, “We’re closer to Germany than to France, but without all the ambiguities on Russia and China.” France also wants to become more assertive using the economic and financial tools Europe already has, especially trade and technology, the officials say. The point, they say, is not to push too hard too fast, but to raise the European game vis-à-vis China and the United States, and try to encourage a culture that is comfortable with power. But France’s German partners will be going through a period of uncertainty and transition. A new German chancellor is expected to win only one-quarter of the vote and may need to negotiate a coalition agreement among three political parties. That is expected to take at least until Christmas, if not longer. The new chancellor will also need to get up to speed on European issues, which barely surfaced in the campaign, and build credibility as the newcomer among 26 other leaders. “So it’s important now to start thinking of concrete French-German wins during a French presidency that Macron can use in a positive way in his campaign,” Schwarzer said. “Because Berlin does not want to ponder a scenario in which Macron loses” to far-right Marine Le Pen or in which euroskeptics like Matteo Salvini take over in Italy. Whoever wins, German policy toward Europe will remain roughly the same from a country deeply committed to EU ideals, cautious and wanting to preserve stability and unity. The real question is whether any European leader can be the cohesive force Merkel was — and if not, what it will mean for the continent’s future. “Merkel herself was important in keeping the EU together,” said Ulrich Speck of the German Marshall Fund. “She kept in mind the interests of so many in Europe, especially Central Europe but also Italy, so that everyone could be kept on board.” Merkel saw the European Union as the core of her policy, said a senior European official, who called her the guardian of true EU values, willing to bend to keep the bloc together, as evidenced by her support for collective debt, previously a German red line, to fund the coronavirus recovery fund. “Merkel acted as mediator when there have been a lot of centrifugal forces weakening Europe,” said Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, head of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund. “It’s less clear how the next chancellor will position himself or herself and Germany.” Still, Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, noted that “whoever is the chancellor, Germany is still responsible for more than half of Chinese trade with Europe.” Germany is “vastly more important than the other countries on all the big issues, from how to handle China to the tech wars and climate change,” he said. That means Macron “knows he has to channel German power behind his vision,” he said. But French and Italian positions will be crucial, too, on important pending financial issues like fiscal and banking integration, trying to complete the single market and monitoring the pandemic recovery fund. Merkel’s departure may provide an opportunity for the kinds of change Macron desires, even if in vastly scaled-down version. Merkel’s love of the status quo, some analysts argue, was anachronistic at a time when Europe faces so many challenges. Perhaps most important is the looming debate about whether to alter Europe’s spending rules, which in practical terms means getting agreement from countries to spend more on everything, from defense to climate. The real problem is that fundamental change would require a treaty change, said Guntram Wolff, director of Bruegel, a Brussels research institution. “You can’t have fiscal and defense integration by stealth,” he said. “It won’t have legitimacy and won’t be accepted by citizens.” But the German election debates ignored these broad issues, he said. “The sad news,” Wolff said, “is that none of the three chancellor candidates campaigned on any of this, so my baseline expectation is continued muddling forward.”

Can Macron lead the European Union after Merkel retires?

Chancellor of Germany. Leader of Europe. Feminist Icon. Angela Merkel wore many hats during her 16 years in power. Palki Sharma looks back at the life and career of 'Europe's Empress'.

Gravitas US Edition: Memes & memories: Merkel era ends in Germany

The European Union slammed Russia for alleged interference in the German elections after observing malicious cyber activities, collectively designated as #Ghostwriter, ahead of the parliamentary election in Germany on Sunday (September 26).&nbsp;

EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted that the fight against cyber attacks is crucial for European security as the cyberattacks threaten the integrity, democratic values and principles of EU member countries.&nbsp;

"Some EU Member States have observed malicious cyber activities, collectively designated as 'Ghostwriter', and associated these with the Russian state," a press release on the behalf of Borrell read.&nbsp;

The statement further added, "These malicious cyber activities are targeting numerous members of Parliaments, government officials, politicians, and members of the press and civil society in the EU by accessing computer systems and personal accounts and stealing data."

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Borrell also stated that activities are contrary to the norms of responsible State behaviour in cyberspace as endorsed by all UN Member States and the attacks are an attempt to undermine democratic institutions and processes.&nbsp;

Previously, Berlin criticised what it called Russian attempts to influence the September 26 election of a new parliament and pointed the finger at hackers from Russia's "Ghostwriter" group which reportedly specialises in spreading disinformation.&nbsp;

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German intelligence believes they have been trying to gain access to the private email accounts of federal and regional MPs.&nbsp;

The European Union and member states strongly have strongly denounced the cyber activities, warned that all involved must put an end to it.&nbsp;

The members urged the Russian Federation to adhere to the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.

(With inputs from agencies)

The European Union slammed Russia for alleged interference in the German elections after observing malicious cyber activities, collectively designated as #Ghostwriter, ahead of the parliamentary election in Germany on Sunday (September 26).

The European Union slammed Russia for alleged interference in the German elections after observing malicious cyber activities, collectively designated as #Ghostwriter, ahead of the parliamentary election in Germany on Sunday (September 26). EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted that the fight against cyber attacks is crucial for European security as the cyberattacks threaten the integrity, democratic values and principles of EU member countries. "Some EU Member States have observed malicious cyber activities, collectively designated as 'Ghostwriter', and associated these with the Russian state," a press release on the behalf of Borrell read. The statement further added, "These malicious cyber activities are targeting numerous members of Parliaments, government officials, politicians, and members of the press and civil society in the EU by accessing computer systems and personal accounts and stealing data." ALSO READ | Biden reiterates US support for India's permanent seat in UNSC, entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group Borrell also stated that activities are contrary to the norms of responsible State behaviour in cyberspace as endorsed by all UN Member States and the attacks are an attempt to undermine democratic institutions and processes. Previously, Berlin criticised what it called Russian attempts to influence the September 26 election of a new parliament and pointed the finger at hackers from Russia's "Ghostwriter" group which reportedly specialises in spreading disinformation. ALSO READ | New York hospitals face possible mass firings as workers spurn vaccines German intelligence believes they have been trying to gain access to the private email accounts of federal and regional MPs. The European Union and member states strongly have strongly denounced the cyber activities, warned that all involved must put an end to it. The members urged the Russian Federation to adhere to the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. (With inputs from agencies)

European Union slams Russia for alleged cyberattacks and hacking ahead of German election

In central Berlin, a giant billboard shows a pair of hands, arranged in the shape of a diamond, in front of a female torso dressed in a green jacket. “Tschüss Mutti,” the billboard reads. “Bye, bye, Mommy.”

Even without a face, Germans know who’s being depicted. The diamond, the colorful jacket and the word “Mutti” are iconic, just like Angela Merkel herself.

After 16 years, Germany is saying “Tschüss” to its longtime chancellor. Across the country, the departure of Ms. Merkel has brought out affectionate nostalgia, tinged with a drop of irony. Yet there’s also fatigue, verging on irritation, a twitchy restlessness to see her off and start afresh. As with most farewells, feelings are mixed.

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For Ms. Merkel, a leader who never sought acclaim, a low-key, almost ambivalent exit feels fitting. But it also reveals an irony about her rule. The qualities that ensured her success — her caution and consistency, her firmness and diligence — are now, at the end of her tenure, leading some to regard her departure with relief. The Germany Ms. Merkel made, in nearly two decades of steady stewardship, is ready to move on.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/germanys-far-right-is-nowhere-in-the-election-but-its-here-to-stay-414856">Germany’s far-right is nowhere in the election. But it’s ‘here to stay.’</a>

For all her calm, Ms. Merkel’s time in charge has not been without tumult. She steered Germany through a series of crises — the financial crash in 2008, the euro debt crisis that followed, the migration crisis of 2015 and, of course, the pandemic. She brokered a truce, albeit a brittle one, between Russia and Ukraine, helped to negotiate Brexit and saw Donald Trump come and go. Each event had the potential to sunder the world. In part thanks to Ms. Merkel, none did.

Her role in these crises continues to be debated. Many progressives maintain that her austerity policies have done more harm than good, and many conservatives believe she should have closed Germany’s borders to migrants in 2015. The overall verdict, though, is unlikely to change. Under great pressure, Ms. Merkel was a conservative in the best sense, retaining the country’s prosperity, cohesion and purpose. Her great achievement was not what she built, but what she managed to keep.

Yet preservation can quickly turn to stagnation. Many of Ms. Merkel’s policies that had an initially stabilizing effect carried hidden long-term costs. And at the very moment she is about to leave office, that’s starting to show. Her “sins of omission” — as a British historian and Germany expert, Timothy Garton Ash, put it to me — are becoming painfully obvious.

Take Europe. Across nearly two decades, Ms. Merkel played an outsize role in guiding the union through a succession of challenges. But in the process, she stored up future problems.

In 2016, for example, the chancellor spearheaded a deal with Turkey to take in refugees. The move ended the yearlong migration crisis, in which more than a million migrants claimed asylum in Europe. But it’s hardly a sustainable solution, neither for Turkey — where economic difficulties and growing numbers of refugees threaten to destabilize the country — nor for Europe. Migrants, especially after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country, will continue to seek refuge on the continent. Some workable solution, attentive to the needs of both migrants and citizens, must be found.

In other areas, too, Ms. Merkel’s approach fell short. Her handling of the euro debt crisis helped secure the future of the bloc, but at the cost of leaving the underlying dynamics — overindebted southern countries and an unbalanced monetary union — untouched. Her conciliatory approach to Russia, not least over the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, looks ever more untenable as President Vladimir Putin ruthlessly consolidates his regime.

And while her inclination to avoid censuring Hungary and Poland for their breaches of the rule of law protected the bloc against disintegration, it sidestepped essential questions about the character of Europe. In Ms. Merkel’s absence, European leaders — including Germany’s next chancellor, whoever that is — will need to determine the bloc’s future course. How will it navigate the increased rivalry between America and China? To what extent will it embark on a more autonomous defense strategy? And how will it combat the rise of the far right?

At home, a similar pattern prevailed. Look at the economy. Yes, Germany’s export surplus came to an all-time high during Ms. Merkel’s tenure, and G.D.P. reached a record high in 2019. But it has come at the cost of an increased — some say excessive — dependence on the Chinese market, something Ms. Merkel has done little to address. What’s more, by shielding Germany’s car industry from more ambitious carbon-emission goals, Ms. Merkel has in effect exonerated managers from the need to innovate. That’s one reason German car companies are scrambling to keep up with their American and Chinese counterparts.

Then there’s climate change. Trying to protect key industries and fearing to impose too much change on voters, Ms. Merkel refrained from any far-reaching plan to cut emissions until late in her tenure. And though the share of renewable energy grew to 45 percent during her time in office, many experts agree that on its current trajectory, the country will not meet its goal of being carbon-neutral by 2045. Despite being seen abroad as the “climate chancellor,” Ms. Merkel has taken only very minor steps toward confronting the defining issue of our time.

It all adds up to a country at once cozy and cosseted, ignorant of the dangers waiting in the wings. Ursula Weidenfeld, an economics journalist and the author of a recent biography of the chancellor, has likened Ms. Merkel’s Germany to the Shire in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” Peaceful and prosperous, soothingly old-fashioned, self-satisfied to the point of delusion and naïve in a likable yet unnerving way: The analogy is apt.

Ms. Merkel protected the Shire, which is what Germans expected of her and why she won four national elections in a row. But in doing so, she fostered its peculiar detachment from the world and its unwillingness to change, innovate or even discuss different ways forward.

The chancellor also became stuck in her ways. Humble and unpretentious, she saw herself as a servant to her country. But in return for her service, dedication and competence, she came to expect — demand, even — blind trust. She has grown increasingly impatient with the forever chatter of Germany’s political class.

Her famous phrase during the migration crisis — “We can do this” — was to some a welcome dose of optimism. But to others, not least in her own party, it was a decree, a royal diktat from above silencing opposition and curtailing debate. Perhaps that tendency hardened over time. Ahead one of the endless meetings with Germany’s 16 governors during the pandemic’s first wave in 2020, she reportedly complained about the “orgies of debates on reopening the country.”

It was an unusual outburst, one that underscored a growing unease about her methods and her achievements. After all, the pandemic exposed Germany’s lack of digital services, the need to modernize its public health service and the vulnerability of the economy’s supply chains. The floods in July, in which over 200 people lost their lives, were a tragic reminder that Germany will not be spared the perils of climate change. Against this backdrop, the prospect of change — no matter how familiar the candidates — has become more appealing.

Just a couple of years ago, Ms. Merkel was garlanded as the “leader of the free world.” Against the chaos and disruption of Mr. Trump, her sober, judicious style was widely envied. Now, in a twist of history, different qualities are wanted. I’m pretty sure there will be many moments in the not-too-distant future when Germans will painfully miss Angela Merkel. And yet: It is time. Tschüss Mutti.

In central Berlin, a giant billboard shows a pair of hands, arranged in the shape of a diamond, in front of a female torso dressed in a green jacket. “Tschüss Mutti,” the billboard reads.

In central Berlin, a giant billboard shows a pair of hands, arranged in the shape of a diamond, in front of a female torso dressed in a green jacket. “Tschüss Mutti,” the billboard reads. “Bye, bye, Mommy.” Even without a face, Germans know who’s being depicted. The diamond, the colorful jacket and the word “Mutti” are iconic, just like Angela Merkel herself. After 16 years, Germany is saying “Tschüss” to its longtime chancellor. Across the country, the departure of Ms. Merkel has brought out affectionate nostalgia, tinged with a drop of irony. Yet there’s also fatigue, verging on irritation, a twitchy restlessness to see her off and start afresh. As with most farewells, feelings are mixed. × For Ms. Merkel, a leader who never sought acclaim, a low-key, almost ambivalent exit feels fitting. But it also reveals an irony about her rule. The qualities that ensured her success — her caution and consistency, her firmness and diligence — are now, at the end of her tenure, leading some to regard her departure with relief. The Germany Ms. Merkel made, in nearly two decades of steady stewardship, is ready to move on. Also Read | Germany’s far-right is nowhere in the election. But it’s ‘here to stay.’ For all her calm, Ms. Merkel’s time in charge has not been without tumult. She steered Germany through a series of crises — the financial crash in 2008, the euro debt crisis that followed, the migration crisis of 2015 and, of course, the pandemic. She brokered a truce, albeit a brittle one, between Russia and Ukraine, helped to negotiate Brexit and saw Donald Trump come and go. Each event had the potential to sunder the world. In part thanks to Ms. Merkel, none did. Her role in these crises continues to be debated. Many progressives maintain that her austerity policies have done more harm than good, and many conservatives believe she should have closed Germany’s borders to migrants in 2015. The overall verdict, though, is unlikely to change. Under great pressure, Ms. Merkel was a conservative in the best sense, retaining the country’s prosperity, cohesion and purpose. Her great achievement was not what she built, but what she managed to keep. Yet preservation can quickly turn to stagnation. Many of Ms. Merkel’s policies that had an initially stabilizing effect carried hidden long-term costs. And at the very moment she is about to leave office, that’s starting to show. Her “sins of omission” — as a British historian and Germany expert, Timothy Garton Ash, put it to me — are becoming painfully obvious. Take Europe. Across nearly two decades, Ms. Merkel played an outsize role in guiding the union through a succession of challenges. But in the process, she stored up future problems. In 2016, for example, the chancellor spearheaded a deal with Turkey to take in refugees. The move ended the yearlong migration crisis, in which more than a million migrants claimed asylum in Europe. But it’s hardly a sustainable solution, neither for Turkey — where economic difficulties and growing numbers of refugees threaten to destabilize the country — nor for Europe. Migrants, especially after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country, will continue to seek refuge on the continent. Some workable solution, attentive to the needs of both migrants and citizens, must be found. In other areas, too, Ms. Merkel’s approach fell short. Her handling of the euro debt crisis helped secure the future of the bloc, but at the cost of leaving the underlying dynamics — overindebted southern countries and an unbalanced monetary union — untouched. Her conciliatory approach to Russia, not least over the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, looks ever more untenable as President Vladimir Putin ruthlessly consolidates his regime. And while her inclination to avoid censuring Hungary and Poland for their breaches of the rule of law protected the bloc against disintegration, it sidestepped essential questions about the character of Europe. In Ms. Merkel’s absence, European leaders — including Germany’s next chancellor, whoever that is — will need to determine the bloc’s future course. How will it navigate the increased rivalry between America and China? To what extent will it embark on a more autonomous defense strategy? And how will it combat the rise of the far right? At home, a similar pattern prevailed. Look at the economy. Yes, Germany’s export surplus came to an all-time high during Ms. Merkel’s tenure, and G.D.P. reached a record high in 2019. But it has come at the cost of an increased — some say excessive — dependence on the Chinese market, something Ms. Merkel has done little to address. What’s more, by shielding Germany’s car industry from more ambitious carbon-emission goals, Ms. Merkel has in effect exonerated managers from the need to innovate. That’s one reason German car companies are scrambling to keep up with their American and Chinese counterparts. Then there’s climate change. Trying to protect key industries and fearing to impose too much change on voters, Ms. Merkel refrained from any far-reaching plan to cut emissions until late in her tenure. And though the share of renewable energy grew to 45 percent during her time in office, many experts agree that on its current trajectory, the country will not meet its goal of being carbon-neutral by 2045. Despite being seen abroad as the “climate chancellor,” Ms. Merkel has taken only very minor steps toward confronting the defining issue of our time. It all adds up to a country at once cozy and cosseted, ignorant of the dangers waiting in the wings. Ursula Weidenfeld, an economics journalist and the author of a recent biography of the chancellor, has likened Ms. Merkel’s Germany to the Shire in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” Peaceful and prosperous, soothingly old-fashioned, self-satisfied to the point of delusion and naïve in a likable yet unnerving way: The analogy is apt. Ms. Merkel protected the Shire, which is what Germans expected of her and why she won four national elections in a row. But in doing so, she fostered its peculiar detachment from the world and its unwillingness to change, innovate or even discuss different ways forward. The chancellor also became stuck in her ways. Humble and unpretentious, she saw herself as a servant to her country. But in return for her service, dedication and competence, she came to expect — demand, even — blind trust. She has grown increasingly impatient with the forever chatter of Germany’s political class. Her famous phrase during the migration crisis — “We can do this” — was to some a welcome dose of optimism. But to others, not least in her own party, it was a decree, a royal diktat from above silencing opposition and curtailing debate. Perhaps that tendency hardened over time. Ahead one of the endless meetings with Germany’s 16 governors during the pandemic’s first wave in 2020, she reportedly complained about the “orgies of debates on reopening the country.” It was an unusual outburst, one that underscored a growing unease about her methods and her achievements. After all, the pandemic exposed Germany’s lack of digital services, the need to modernize its public health service and the vulnerability of the economy’s supply chains. The floods in July, in which over 200 people lost their lives, were a tragic reminder that Germany will not be spared the perils of climate change. Against this backdrop, the prospect of change — no matter how familiar the candidates — has become more appealing. Just a couple of years ago, Ms. Merkel was garlanded as the “leader of the free world.” Against the chaos and disruption of Mr. Trump, her sober, judicious style was widely envied. Now, in a twist of history, different qualities are wanted. I’m pretty sure there will be many moments in the not-too-distant future when Germans will painfully miss Angela Merkel. And yet: It is time. Tschüss Mutti.

Farewell, Angela Merkel. You were once the ‘Leader of the Free World’

Scrolling through her social media feed, Laura Dornheim is regularly stopped cold by a new blast of abuse aimed at her, including from people threatening to kill or sexually assault her. One person last year said that he looked forward to meeting her in person so he could punch her teeth out.

Dornheim, a candidate for a Parliament seat in Germany’s election Sunday, is often attacked for her support of abortion rights, gender equality and immigration. She flags some of the posts to Facebook and Twitter, hoping that the platforms will delete the posts or that the perpetrators will be banned. She’s usually disappointed.

“There might have been one instance where something actually got taken down,” Dornheim said.

Harassment and abuse are all too common on the modern internet. Yet it was supposed to be different in Germany. In 2017, the country enacted one of the world’s toughest laws against online hate speech. It requires Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to remove illegal comments, pictures or videos within 24 hours of being notified about them or risk fines of up to 50 million euros ($59 million). Supporters hailed it as a watershed moment for internet regulation and a model for other countries.

But an influx of hate speech and harassment in the runup to the German election, in which the country will choose a new leader to replace Angela Merkel, its longtime chancellor, has exposed some of the law’s weaknesses. Much of the toxic speech, researchers say, has come from far-right groups and is aimed at intimidating female candidates like Dornheim.

Some critics of the law say it is too weak, with limited enforcement and oversight. They also maintain that many forms of abuse are deemed legal by the platforms, such as certain kinds of harassment of women and public officials. And when companies do remove illegal material, critics say, they often do not alert the authorities or share information about the posts, making prosecutions of the people publishing the material far more difficult. Another loophole, they say, is that smaller platforms like the messaging app Telegram, popular among far-right groups, are not subject to the law.

Free-expression groups criticize the law on other grounds. They argue that the law should be abolished not only because it fails to protect victims of online abuse and harassment, but also because it sets a dangerous precedent for government censorship of the internet.

The country’s experience may shape policy across the Continent. German officials are playing a key role in drafting one of the world’s most anticipated new internet regulations, a European Union law called the Digital Services Act, which will require Facebook and other online platforms to do more to address the vitriol, misinformation and illicit content on their sites. Ursula von der Leyen, a German who is president of the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm, has called for an EU law that would list gender-based violence as a special crime category, a proposal that would include online attacks.

“Germany was the first to try to tackle this kind of online accountability,” said Julian Jaursch, a project director at the German think tank Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, which focuses on digital issues. “It is important to ask whether the law is working.”

Marc Liesching, a professor at HTWK Leipzig who published an academic report on the policy, said that of the posts that have been deleted by Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, a vast majority were classified as violating company policies, not the hate speech law. That distinction makes it harder for the government to measure whether companies are complying with the law. In the second half of 2020, Facebook removed 49 million pieces of “hate speech” based on its own community standards, compared with the 154 deletions that they attributed to the German law, he found.

The law, Liesching said, “is not relevant in practice.”

With its history of Nazism, Germany has long tried to balance free-speech rights against a commitment to combat hate speech. Among Western democracies, the country has some of the world’s toughest laws against incitement to violence and hate speech. Targeting religious, ethnic and racial groups is illegal, as is Holocaust denial and displaying Nazi symbols in public.

To address concerns that companies were not alerting the authorities to illegal posts, German policymakers this year passed amendments to the law. They require Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to turn over data to the police about accounts that post material that German law would consider illegal speech. The Justice Ministry was also given more powers to enforce the law.

“The aim of our legislative package is to protect all those who are exposed to threats and insults on the internet,” Christine Lambrecht, the justice minister, who oversees enforcement of the law, said after the amendments were adopted. “Whoever engages in hate speech and issues threats will have to expect to be charged and convicted.”

Facebook and Google have filed a legal challenge to block the new rules, arguing that providing the police with personal information about users violates their privacy.

Facebook said that as part of an agreement with the government it now provides more data about the complaints it receives. From January through July, the company received more than 77,000 complaints, which led it to delete or block about 11,500 pieces of content under the German law, known as NetzDG.

“We have zero tolerance for hate speech and support the aims of NetzDG,” Facebook said in a statement.

Twitter, which received around 833,000 complaints and removed roughly 81,000 posts during the same period, said a majority of those posts did not fit the definition of illegal speech, but still violated the company’s terms of service.

“Threats, abusive content and harassment all have the potential to silence individuals,” Twitter said in a statement. “However, regulation and legislation such as this also has the potential to chill free speech by emboldening regimes around the world to legislate as a way to stifle dissent and legitimate speech.”

YouTube, which received around 312,000 complaints and removed around 48,000 pieces of content in the first six months of the year, declined to comment other than saying that it complies with the law.

The amount of hate speech has become increasingly pronounced during election season, according to researchers at Reset and HateAid, organizations that track online hate speech and are pushing for tougher laws.

The groups reviewed nearly 1 million comments on far-right and conspiratorial groups across about 75,000 Facebook posts in June, finding that roughly 5% were “highly toxic” or violated the online hate speech law. Some of the worst material, including messages with Nazi symbolism, had been online for more than a year, the groups found. Of 100 posts reported by the groups to Facebook, roughly half were removed within a few days, while the others remain online.

The election has also seen a wave of misinformation, including false claims about voter fraud.

Annalena Baerbock, the 40-year-old leader of the Green Party and the only woman among the top candidates to succeed Merkel, has been the subject of an outsize amount of abuse compared with her male rivals from other parties, including sexist slurs and misinformation campaigns, according to researchers.

Others have stopped running altogether. In March, a former Syrian refugee running for the German Parliament, Tareq Alaows, dropped out of the race after experiencing racist attacks and violent threats online.

While many policymakers want Facebook and other platforms to be aggressive in screening user-generated content, others have concerns about allowing private companies to make decisions about what people can and can’t say. The far-right party Alternative for Germany, which has criticised the law for unfairly targeting its supporters, has vowed to repeal the policy “to respect freedom of expression.”

Jillian York, an author and free speech activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in Berlin, said the German law encouraged companies to remove potentially offensive that is perfectly legal, undermining free expression rights.

“Facebook doesn’t err on the side of caution, they just take it down,” York said. Another concern, she said, is that less democratic countries such as Turkey and Belarus have adopted laws similar to Germany’s so they could classify certain material critical of the government as illegal.

Renate Künast, a former government minister who once invited a journalist to accompany her as she confronted individuals in person who had targeted her with online abuse, wants to see the law go further. Victims of online abuse should be able to go after perpetrators directly for libel and financial settlements, she said. Without that ability, she added, online abuse will erode political participation, particularly among women and minority groups.

In a survey of more than 7,000 German women released in 2019, 58% said they did not share political opinions online for fear of abuse.

“They use the verbal power of hate speech to force people to step back, leave their office or not to be candidates,” Künast said.

Dornheim, the candidate for Parliament, who has a master’s in computer science and used to work in the tech industry, said more restrictions were needed. She described getting her home address removed from public records after somebody mailed a package to her house during a particularly bad bout of online abuse.

Yet, she said, the harassment has only steeled her resolve.

“I would never give them the satisfaction of shutting up,” she said.

Scrolling through her social media feed, Laura Dornheim is regularly stopped cold by a new blast of abuse aimed at her, including from people threatening to kill or sexually assault her.

Scrolling through her social media feed, Laura Dornheim is regularly stopped cold by a new blast of abuse aimed at her, including from people threatening to kill or sexually assault her. One person last year said that he looked forward to meeting her in person so he could punch her teeth out. Dornheim, a candidate for a Parliament seat in Germany’s election Sunday, is often attacked for her support of abortion rights, gender equality and immigration. She flags some of the posts to Facebook and Twitter, hoping that the platforms will delete the posts or that the perpetrators will be banned. She’s usually disappointed. “There might have been one instance where something actually got taken down,” Dornheim said. Harassment and abuse are all too common on the modern internet. Yet it was supposed to be different in Germany. In 2017, the country enacted one of the world’s toughest laws against online hate speech. It requires Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to remove illegal comments, pictures or videos within 24 hours of being notified about them or risk fines of up to 50 million euros ($59 million). Supporters hailed it as a watershed moment for internet regulation and a model for other countries. But an influx of hate speech and harassment in the runup to the German election, in which the country will choose a new leader to replace Angela Merkel, its longtime chancellor, has exposed some of the law’s weaknesses. Much of the toxic speech, researchers say, has come from far-right groups and is aimed at intimidating female candidates like Dornheim. Some critics of the law say it is too weak, with limited enforcement and oversight. They also maintain that many forms of abuse are deemed legal by the platforms, such as certain kinds of harassment of women and public officials. And when companies do remove illegal material, critics say, they often do not alert the authorities or share information about the posts, making prosecutions of the people publishing the material far more difficult. Another loophole, they say, is that smaller platforms like the messaging app Telegram, popular among far-right groups, are not subject to the law. Free-expression groups criticize the law on other grounds. They argue that the law should be abolished not only because it fails to protect victims of online abuse and harassment, but also because it sets a dangerous precedent for government censorship of the internet. The country’s experience may shape policy across the Continent. German officials are playing a key role in drafting one of the world’s most anticipated new internet regulations, a European Union law called the Digital Services Act, which will require Facebook and other online platforms to do more to address the vitriol, misinformation and illicit content on their sites. Ursula von der Leyen, a German who is president of the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm, has called for an EU law that would list gender-based violence as a special crime category, a proposal that would include online attacks. “Germany was the first to try to tackle this kind of online accountability,” said Julian Jaursch, a project director at the German think tank Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, which focuses on digital issues. “It is important to ask whether the law is working.” Marc Liesching, a professor at HTWK Leipzig who published an academic report on the policy, said that of the posts that have been deleted by Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, a vast majority were classified as violating company policies, not the hate speech law. That distinction makes it harder for the government to measure whether companies are complying with the law. In the second half of 2020, Facebook removed 49 million pieces of “hate speech” based on its own community standards, compared with the 154 deletions that they attributed to the German law, he found. The law, Liesching said, “is not relevant in practice.” With its history of Nazism, Germany has long tried to balance free-speech rights against a commitment to combat hate speech. Among Western democracies, the country has some of the world’s toughest laws against incitement to violence and hate speech. Targeting religious, ethnic and racial groups is illegal, as is Holocaust denial and displaying Nazi symbols in public. To address concerns that companies were not alerting the authorities to illegal posts, German policymakers this year passed amendments to the law. They require Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to turn over data to the police about accounts that post material that German law would consider illegal speech. The Justice Ministry was also given more powers to enforce the law. “The aim of our legislative package is to protect all those who are exposed to threats and insults on the internet,” Christine Lambrecht, the justice minister, who oversees enforcement of the law, said after the amendments were adopted. “Whoever engages in hate speech and issues threats will have to expect to be charged and convicted.” Facebook and Google have filed a legal challenge to block the new rules, arguing that providing the police with personal information about users violates their privacy. Facebook said that as part of an agreement with the government it now provides more data about the complaints it receives. From January through July, the company received more than 77,000 complaints, which led it to delete or block about 11,500 pieces of content under the German law, known as NetzDG. “We have zero tolerance for hate speech and support the aims of NetzDG,” Facebook said in a statement. Twitter, which received around 833,000 complaints and removed roughly 81,000 posts during the same period, said a majority of those posts did not fit the definition of illegal speech, but still violated the company’s terms of service. “Threats, abusive content and harassment all have the potential to silence individuals,” Twitter said in a statement. “However, regulation and legislation such as this also has the potential to chill free speech by emboldening regimes around the world to legislate as a way to stifle dissent and legitimate speech.” YouTube, which received around 312,000 complaints and removed around 48,000 pieces of content in the first six months of the year, declined to comment other than saying that it complies with the law. The amount of hate speech has become increasingly pronounced during election season, according to researchers at Reset and HateAid, organizations that track online hate speech and are pushing for tougher laws. The groups reviewed nearly 1 million comments on far-right and conspiratorial groups across about 75,000 Facebook posts in June, finding that roughly 5% were “highly toxic” or violated the online hate speech law. Some of the worst material, including messages with Nazi symbolism, had been online for more than a year, the groups found. Of 100 posts reported by the groups to Facebook, roughly half were removed within a few days, while the others remain online. The election has also seen a wave of misinformation, including false claims about voter fraud. Annalena Baerbock, the 40-year-old leader of the Green Party and the only woman among the top candidates to succeed Merkel, has been the subject of an outsize amount of abuse compared with her male rivals from other parties, including sexist slurs and misinformation campaigns, according to researchers. Others have stopped running altogether. In March, a former Syrian refugee running for the German Parliament, Tareq Alaows, dropped out of the race after experiencing racist attacks and violent threats online. While many policymakers want Facebook and other platforms to be aggressive in screening user-generated content, others have concerns about allowing private companies to make decisions about what people can and can’t say. The far-right party Alternative for Germany, which has criticised the law for unfairly targeting its supporters, has vowed to repeal the policy “to respect freedom of expression.” Jillian York, an author and free speech activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in Berlin, said the German law encouraged companies to remove potentially offensive that is perfectly legal, undermining free expression rights. “Facebook doesn’t err on the side of caution, they just take it down,” York said. Another concern, she said, is that less democratic countries such as Turkey and Belarus have adopted laws similar to Germany’s so they could classify certain material critical of the government as illegal. Renate Künast, a former government minister who once invited a journalist to accompany her as she confronted individuals in person who had targeted her with online abuse, wants to see the law go further. Victims of online abuse should be able to go after perpetrators directly for libel and financial settlements, she said. Without that ability, she added, online abuse will erode political participation, particularly among women and minority groups. In a survey of more than 7,000 German women released in 2019, 58% said they did not share political opinions online for fear of abuse. “They use the verbal power of hate speech to force people to step back, leave their office or not to be candidates,” Künast said. Dornheim, the candidate for Parliament, who has a master’s in computer science and used to work in the tech industry, said more restrictions were needed. She described getting her home address removed from public records after somebody mailed a package to her house during a particularly bad bout of online abuse. Yet, she said, the harassment has only steeled her resolve. “I would never give them the satisfaction of shutting up,” she said.

An experiment to stop online abuse falls short in Germany

Germany is seeking support from other European Union members to ensure a second term for Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the helm of the World Health Organisation, but African states have yet to show their cards, government sources and diplomats said on Wednesday.

The deadline for proposing candidates in the politically charged race is Thursday at 1600 GMT and no other candidate for the election in May is known to have surfaced, they said.

Tedros, who was elected as WHO's first African director-general in May 2017, has been shunned this time by his native Ethiopia due to friction over the Tigray conflict.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn backed a second term for Tedros on Tuesday and called on other countries to support the former Ethiopian health and foreign minister ahead of the deadline.

Government sources in Berlin made clear to Reuters on Wednesday it was now an official nomination.

"Right now an effort is going on, led by Germany, looking for other member states to join Germany in nominating him," a Western diplomat said. "Germany won't be alone."

Tedros, who has been the public face of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, has trodden a fine line while managing to anger both China and the United States at different times.

The Trump administration accused him of being "China-centric", a charge he denies. But relations have improved since President Joe Biden took office and Tedros said in July that a second phase of studies into the origins of the coronavirus in China were needed, including audits of laboratories.

One African diplomat at the African Union said that, a day ahead of the deadline, the appointment of the new head of the WHO had not been discussed among member countries.

An African ambassador in Addis Ababa said that he was not aware of any member of the African Union preparing an alternative candidate. Most regional countries are keen to see him stay in the job, where he has promoted their access to COVID-19 vaccines and the start of vaccine production on the continent, he said.

A senior African diplomat based in Geneva said he did not expect any country in the African group to nominate Tedros as he did not enjoy Ethiopia's backing.

African countries are expected to support Tedros' re-election, however, and the senior diplomat was not aware of any other candidates from Africa or from another region.

"As a regional group it is always difficult when the home country doesn't support its own national. It would be complicated for an African country other than his country of origin to take the initiative," he told Reuters.

Germany is seeking support from other European Union members to ensure a second term for Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the helm of the World Health Organisation, but African states have yet to show their cards, government sources and diplomats said on Wednesday.

Germany is seeking support from other European Union members to ensure a second term for Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the helm of the World Health Organisation, but African states have yet to show their cards, government sources and diplomats said on Wednesday. The deadline for proposing candidates in the politically charged race is Thursday at 1600 GMT and no other candidate for the election in May is known to have surfaced, they said. Tedros, who was elected as WHO's first African director-general in May 2017, has been shunned this time by his native Ethiopia due to friction over the Tigray conflict. German Health Minister Jens Spahn backed a second term for Tedros on Tuesday and called on other countries to support the former Ethiopian health and foreign minister ahead of the deadline. Government sources in Berlin made clear to Reuters on Wednesday it was now an official nomination. "Right now an effort is going on, led by Germany, looking for other member states to join Germany in nominating him," a Western diplomat said. "Germany won't be alone." Tedros, who has been the public face of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, has trodden a fine line while managing to anger both China and the United States at different times. The Trump administration accused him of being "China-centric", a charge he denies. But relations have improved since President Joe Biden took office and Tedros said in July that a second phase of studies into the origins of the coronavirus in China were needed, including audits of laboratories. One African diplomat at the African Union said that, a day ahead of the deadline, the appointment of the new head of the WHO had not been discussed among member countries. An African ambassador in Addis Ababa said that he was not aware of any member of the African Union preparing an alternative candidate. Most regional countries are keen to see him stay in the job, where he has promoted their access to COVID-19 vaccines and the start of vaccine production on the continent, he said. A senior African diplomat based in Geneva said he did not expect any country in the African group to nominate Tedros as he did not enjoy Ethiopia's backing. African countries are expected to support Tedros' re-election, however, and the senior diplomat was not aware of any other candidates from Africa or from another region. "As a regional group it is always difficult when the home country doesn't support its own national. It would be complicated for an African country other than his country of origin to take the initiative," he told Reuters.

Germany seeks backing for Tedros at WHO helm as Africa quiet: Diplomats

Sounds of drills have replaced the noise of children at this primary school in Germany. The school building has been out of use since the floods devastated the region. Students have been attending classes elsewhere.

Renovation of primary school in Germany, slow post-flood recovery | WION Climate Tracker

Germany reacted with shock and outrage on Tuesday after a 20-year-old petrol station worker was shot dead by a customer angry about being asked to put on a mask while buying beer.

The killing on Saturday evening in the western town of Idar-Oberstein is believed to be the first in Germany linked to the government's coronavirus rules.

The row started when the cashier, a student, told the customer to put on a face mask, as required in all German shops. After a brief argument, the man left.

The suspect then returned about an hour and a half later, this time wearing a mask. But as he brought his six-pack of beer to the till, he took off the mask and another discussion ensued.&nbsp;

"The perpetrator then pulled out a revolver and shot him straight in the head," prosecutor Kai Fuhrmann told reporters on Monday.

The suspect, a 49-year-old German man, walked to a police station the following day to turn himself in. He was arrested and has confessed to the murder.

He told police he felt "cornered" by the coronavirus measures, which he perceived as an "ever-growing infringement on his rights" and he had seen "no other way out", Fuhrmann said.

Idar-Oberstein mayor Frank Fruehauf called it "an unfathomable, terrible act", and residents have laid flowers and candles outside the petrol station.

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The murder comes just days before Germans head to the polls for a general election on September 26 that will see Chancellor Angela Merkel bow out after 16 years.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz from the centre-left Social Democrats, the current frontrunner to succeed Merkel, said he was "shocked" by the murder of someone who only wanted "to protect himself and others".

"As a society, we must resolutely stand up to hatred," he tweeted.

Annalena Baerbock, the Green party's candidate for the chancellery, said she was "shaken" by the murder and "very concerned" about growing radicalisation in the anti-mask community.

Paul Ziemiak, general secretary of Merkel's CDU party, said the victim was "practically executed" in an act that showed "an inconceivable level of radicalisation".

<h2>'Growing aggressiveness'</h2>

The Tagesspiegel newspaper said far-right chat groups on Telegram were applauding the murder, with one user writing "Here we go!!!" while others posted thumbs-up emojis.

Germany has seen repeated protests from anti-mask demonstrators throughout the pandemic, some of them attracting tens of thousands of people.

The "Querdenker" (Lateral Thinkers) movement has emerged as the loudest voice against the government's coronavirus curbs and regulations. Its marches have drawn a wide mix of people, including vaccine sceptics, neo-Nazis and members of Germany's far-right AfD party.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the "hatred and incitement" of Querdenker "divides our community and kills people". "They have no place in our society," he wrote on Twitter.

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Germany's domestic intelligence agency announced in April that it would start monitoring leading Querdenker figures over concerns they were trying to undermine the state and had ties to right-wing extremism.

Stephan Kramer, head of the domestic intelligence agency in the eastern state of Thuringia, told Germany's RND media group he was saddened but not surprised by the killing.

"The escalation of right-wing conspiracy fantasies among aggressive and violence-prone citizens has been obvious for months," he said.&nbsp;

"The growing aggressiveness is palpable in everyday life."

Germany reacted with shock and outrage on Tuesday after a 20-year-old petrol station worker was shot dead by a customer angry about being asked to put on a mask while buying beer.

Germany reacted with shock and outrage on Tuesday after a 20-year-old petrol station worker was shot dead by a customer angry about being asked to put on a mask while buying beer. The killing on Saturday evening in the western town of Idar-Oberstein is believed to be the first in Germany linked to the government's coronavirus rules. The row started when the cashier, a student, told the customer to put on a face mask, as required in all German shops. After a brief argument, the man left. The suspect then returned about an hour and a half later, this time wearing a mask. But as he brought his six-pack of beer to the till, he took off the mask and another discussion ensued. "The perpetrator then pulled out a revolver and shot him straight in the head," prosecutor Kai Fuhrmann told reporters on Monday. The suspect, a 49-year-old German man, walked to a police station the following day to turn himself in. He was arrested and has confessed to the murder. He told police he felt "cornered" by the coronavirus measures, which he perceived as an "ever-growing infringement on his rights" and he had seen "no other way out", Fuhrmann said. Idar-Oberstein mayor Frank Fruehauf called it "an unfathomable, terrible act", and residents have laid flowers and candles outside the petrol station. Also read | Pandemic claims more American lives than 1918 flu, data shows The murder comes just days before Germans head to the polls for a general election on September 26 that will see Chancellor Angela Merkel bow out after 16 years. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz from the centre-left Social Democrats, the current frontrunner to succeed Merkel, said he was "shocked" by the murder of someone who only wanted "to protect himself and others". "As a society, we must resolutely stand up to hatred," he tweeted. Annalena Baerbock, the Green party's candidate for the chancellery, said she was "shaken" by the murder and "very concerned" about growing radicalisation in the anti-mask community. Paul Ziemiak, general secretary of Merkel's CDU party, said the victim was "practically executed" in an act that showed "an inconceivable level of radicalisation". 'Growing aggressiveness' The Tagesspiegel newspaper said far-right chat groups on Telegram were applauding the murder, with one user writing "Here we go!!!" while others posted thumbs-up emojis. Germany has seen repeated protests from anti-mask demonstrators throughout the pandemic, some of them attracting tens of thousands of people. The "Querdenker" (Lateral Thinkers) movement has emerged as the loudest voice against the government's coronavirus curbs and regulations. Its marches have drawn a wide mix of people, including vaccine sceptics, neo-Nazis and members of Germany's far-right AfD party. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the "hatred and incitement" of Querdenker "divides our community and kills people". "They have no place in our society," he wrote on Twitter. Also read | CIA officer reports Havana syndrome symptoms on India trip: reports Germany's domestic intelligence agency announced in April that it would start monitoring leading Querdenker figures over concerns they were trying to undermine the state and had ties to right-wing extremism. Stephan Kramer, head of the domestic intelligence agency in the eastern state of Thuringia, told Germany's RND media group he was saddened but not surprised by the killing. "The escalation of right-wing conspiracy fantasies among aggressive and violence-prone citizens has been obvious for months," he said. "The growing aggressiveness is palpable in everyday life."

Covid rage: Asked to put on mask, angry customer kills petrol station worker in Germany

After 16 era-defining years at the helm of Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is standing down - so a traditional marzipan manufacturer is hoping to sweeten her departure with a special souvenir for her fans. Watch this video for more details.

Marzipan makers offer special sweets for Germans

Germany is also headed to the polls. The country is going to elect a new leader after 16 years of Chancellor Angela Merkel's rule.

Germany: Voting starts in flood-hit areas

The candidates to become Germany’s next chancellor had faced off in a TV debate. Armin Laschet, the candidate from Angela Merkel's party CDU tried to turn his fortunes around by attacking finance minister Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) over his track record on tackling money laundering and corruption.

German election candidates face off in first TV debate

Germany's Left-wing Social Democratic Party is soaring ahead in opinion polls. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Conservative alliance is trailing behind. The country will go to polls on September 26. Who is going to win? Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: Germany's Left-Wing party soars in opinion polls

In Germany, the government's anti-money laundering agency german prosecutors have raided finance and justice ministries.

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In a revelation on Tuesday, the federal government said that the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had bought notorious Pegasus spyware from the Israeli firm NSO in 2019. &nbsp;&nbsp;

In a closed-doors session, the government informed the Interior Committee of the Bundestag about the purchase, sources in the parliament said. It confirmed the earlier reports, which were published in German newspaper ‘Die Zeit’, about the matter. &nbsp;

According to ‘Die Zeit’, the software was procured under "the utmost secrecy". The move was taken despite the hesitations of lawyers as the surveillance tool can do much more than German privacy laws permit. &nbsp;

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To prevent abuse, the version purchased by the BKA had certain functions blocked, security circles told the paper. Although it is unclear how that works on a practical level. &nbsp;

The revelations came after a joint research by Die Zeit as well as daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcasters NDR and WDR. &nbsp;

BKA Vice President Martina Link confirmed to lawmakers that her organisation had purchased the software, said the Süddeutsche Zeitung report. &nbsp;&nbsp;

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In 2020, the police force acquired a version of the Pegasus Trojan virus software, which was being used in select operations, concerning terrorism and organised crime since March this year. &nbsp;

As per Germany's Federal Constitutional Court ruling, security services are only permitted to use spyware on the cellphones and computers of surveillance targets in special cases, and can only initiate certain types of operations.&nbsp;

In a revelation on Tuesday, the federal government said that the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had bought notorious Pegasus spyware from the Israeli firm NSO in 2019.

In a revelation on Tuesday, the federal government said that the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had bought notorious Pegasus spyware from the Israeli firm NSO in 2019. In a closed-doors session, the government informed the Interior Committee of the Bundestag about the purchase, sources in the parliament said. It confirmed the earlier reports, which were published in German newspaper ‘Die Zeit’, about the matter. According to ‘Die Zeit’, the software was procured under "the utmost secrecy". The move was taken despite the hesitations of lawyers as the surveillance tool can do much more than German privacy laws permit. Watch: Iran enriches production of highly enriched uranium × To prevent abuse, the version purchased by the BKA had certain functions blocked, security circles told the paper. Although it is unclear how that works on a practical level. The revelations came after a joint research by Die Zeit as well as daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcasters NDR and WDR. BKA Vice President Martina Link confirmed to lawmakers that her organisation had purchased the software, said the Süddeutsche Zeitung report. Also Read: Can Biden save his presidency? In 2020, the police force acquired a version of the Pegasus Trojan virus software, which was being used in select operations, concerning terrorism and organised crime since March this year. As per Germany's Federal Constitutional Court ruling, security services are only permitted to use spyware on the cellphones and computers of surveillance targets in special cases, and can only initiate certain types of operations.

NSO's notorious Pegasus spyware secretly bought by police in Germany: Reports

Angela Merkel has said she wanted to stay out of the election campaign for her replacement as Germany’s chancellor. But with her party polling at record lows, Merkel used a speech to Germany’s Parliament on Tuesday to plead with Germans to keep the Christian Democrats in power.

Since late July, the conservative Christian Democrats and their Bavaria-only partners, the Christian Social Union, have been dropping steadily in the polls, while their candidate to replace Merkel, Armin Laschet, has struggled to overcome a series of gaffes that sent his own popularity plunging.

The situation has become alarming enough that Merkel has dropped the pretense of being a bystander, and in recent weeks she has been using her voice and platform to try to drum up support for Laschet and distance herself from his main rival, Olaf Scholz.

Scholz, Germany’s finance minister and Merkel’s vice chancellor, has been seeing his popularity rise, along with that of his center-left Social Democratic Party — often by positioning himself as the true successor to the chancellor under whom he has governed since 2017.

In an effort to claw back support, Laschet has taken to warning that a government led by Scholz could shift the country away from its current centrist course, especially if he includes the Left Party in any governing coalition. The Left Party has repeatedly rejected Germany’s participation in NATO missions and questioned whether the alliance should exist.

Merkel, who is not seeking another term in office, echoed that warning on Tuesday in what was likely her last speech before Parliament as chancellor, urging voters to throw their support behind Laschet when they go to the polls on Sept. 26 to elect a new government. It is the first time since modern Germany was founded in 1949 that the incumbent chancellor is willingly ceding power.

“In a few days, our citizens have to make a choice: either between a government with the Social Democrats and the Greens, that accepts support from the Left Party, or at least does not exclude it,” Merkel said, “or a German government led by the Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union, with Armin Laschet as chancellor.”

Despite Merkel’s intentions to stay out of the campaign, Tuesday’s remarks were not the first time she has stepped up to help her party’s flagging fortunes. On Aug. 20, when Laschet sought to relaunch his election campaign heading into the final weeks, Merkel praised, among other things, his Christianity as his guiding moral compass. Still, his fortunes failed to turn around.

Last week, Laschet presented a team of expert advisers he hoped would shore up his numbers, but that appears to have had little impact.

Polls released this week have shown Laschet’s party struggling to retain 20% support — a previously unthinkable position for a party that has governed Germany for all but two of the past seven decades.

Merkel also went on the attack against Scholz, who during a campaign speech last week described the 50 million Germans who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 as “guinea pigs” who had proved the safety of the vaccines.

“We were the guinea pigs for those who have waited,” Scholz told a radio station in North Rhine-Westphalia. “As one of the 50 million, I can say, it went well! Please join us!”

In her speech on Tuesday, Merkel shot back: “Of course no one of us who has been vaccinated is in any way a guinea pig,” she said, adding that all vaccines had undergone the necessary testing to be granted approval.

Scholz defended his comment as a lighthearted attempt to persuade more people to get their inoculation against COVID-19. “If some people don’t want to laugh, but get upset, maybe it has something to do with their ratings in the polls that aren’t very funny,” he said.

Long the traditional rivals of the center-right conservatives, the Social Democrats spent 12 of Merkel’s nearly 16 years in government as the junior coalition partner in her government, influencing many of the policies passed, like a national minimum wage and billions in COVID relief.

Scholz, who was initially dismissed as a viable candidate for chancellor, has surprised the conservatives with his strong showing. Headed into the race, the Christian Democrats thought their biggest challenge would be the Green Party and its 40-year-old candidate, Annalena Baerbock, who has campaigned on a promise to usher in an era of change.

Scholz, 63, has understood that after four terms of prosperity and relative stability under Merkel, Germans still value a feeling of security. He has focused his campaign on pledging to ensure jobs and working to shore up social stability by fighting child poverty and keeping housing prices in check.

“A new beginning is needed,” Scholz told Parliament on Tuesday. “I hope, and I am sure, that it will succeed.”

Angela Merkel has said she wanted to stay out of the election campaign for her replacement as Germany’s chancellor. But with her party polling at record lows, Merkel used a speech to Germany’s Parliament on Tuesday to plead with Germans to keep the Christian Democrats in power.

Angela Merkel has said she wanted to stay out of the election campaign for her replacement as Germany’s chancellor. But with her party polling at record lows, Merkel used a speech to Germany’s Parliament on Tuesday to plead with Germans to keep the Christian Democrats in power. Since late July, the conservative Christian Democrats and their Bavaria-only partners, the Christian Social Union, have been dropping steadily in the polls, while their candidate to replace Merkel, Armin Laschet, has struggled to overcome a series of gaffes that sent his own popularity plunging. The situation has become alarming enough that Merkel has dropped the pretense of being a bystander, and in recent weeks she has been using her voice and platform to try to drum up support for Laschet and distance herself from his main rival, Olaf Scholz. Scholz, Germany’s finance minister and Merkel’s vice chancellor, has been seeing his popularity rise, along with that of his center-left Social Democratic Party — often by positioning himself as the true successor to the chancellor under whom he has governed since 2017. In an effort to claw back support, Laschet has taken to warning that a government led by Scholz could shift the country away from its current centrist course, especially if he includes the Left Party in any governing coalition. The Left Party has repeatedly rejected Germany’s participation in NATO missions and questioned whether the alliance should exist. Merkel, who is not seeking another term in office, echoed that warning on Tuesday in what was likely her last speech before Parliament as chancellor, urging voters to throw their support behind Laschet when they go to the polls on Sept. 26 to elect a new government. It is the first time since modern Germany was founded in 1949 that the incumbent chancellor is willingly ceding power. “In a few days, our citizens have to make a choice: either between a government with the Social Democrats and the Greens, that accepts support from the Left Party, or at least does not exclude it,” Merkel said, “or a German government led by the Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union, with Armin Laschet as chancellor.” Despite Merkel’s intentions to stay out of the campaign, Tuesday’s remarks were not the first time she has stepped up to help her party’s flagging fortunes. On Aug. 20, when Laschet sought to relaunch his election campaign heading into the final weeks, Merkel praised, among other things, his Christianity as his guiding moral compass. Still, his fortunes failed to turn around. Last week, Laschet presented a team of expert advisers he hoped would shore up his numbers, but that appears to have had little impact. Polls released this week have shown Laschet’s party struggling to retain 20% support — a previously unthinkable position for a party that has governed Germany for all but two of the past seven decades. Merkel also went on the attack against Scholz, who during a campaign speech last week described the 50 million Germans who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 as “guinea pigs” who had proved the safety of the vaccines. “We were the guinea pigs for those who have waited,” Scholz told a radio station in North Rhine-Westphalia. “As one of the 50 million, I can say, it went well! Please join us!” In her speech on Tuesday, Merkel shot back: “Of course no one of us who has been vaccinated is in any way a guinea pig,” she said, adding that all vaccines had undergone the necessary testing to be granted approval. Scholz defended his comment as a lighthearted attempt to persuade more people to get their inoculation against COVID-19. “If some people don’t want to laugh, but get upset, maybe it has something to do with their ratings in the polls that aren’t very funny,” he said. Long the traditional rivals of the center-right conservatives, the Social Democrats spent 12 of Merkel’s nearly 16 years in government as the junior coalition partner in her government, influencing many of the policies passed, like a national minimum wage and billions in COVID relief. Scholz, who was initially dismissed as a viable candidate for chancellor, has surprised the conservatives with his strong showing. Headed into the race, the Christian Democrats thought their biggest challenge would be the Green Party and its 40-year-old candidate, Annalena Baerbock, who has campaigned on a promise to usher in an era of change. Scholz, 63, has understood that after four terms of prosperity and relative stability under Merkel, Germans still value a feeling of security. He has focused his campaign on pledging to ensure jobs and working to shore up social stability by fighting child poverty and keeping housing prices in check. “A new beginning is needed,” Scholz told Parliament on Tuesday. “I hope, and I am sure, that it will succeed.”

With her party fading, Merkel dips into the campaign fray

Germany wants to talk to the Taliban about how to evacuate its remaining local contract workers from Afghanistan, Chancellor Angela Merkel said. She said that it was a good sign that the airport in Kabul could be used for flights again.

Germany says ready to hold talks with Taliban

A 29-year-old Afghan guy attacked and severely injured a 58-year-old landscape gardener while she was working in a park in Berlin's Wilmersdorf area on Sunday.

The man allegedly attacked the woman because he didn't like the idea that she was working as a woman, according to the authorities.

On Saturday afternoon, the assailant allegedly approached the victim and spoke with her. He then abruptly pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the neck numerous times.

A 66-year-old passerby, who tried to come to the woman's rescue, was also severely injured.&nbsp;

According to police, the perpetrator approached the victim and spoke to her, despite the fact that his identity was not revealed due to German privacy rules.

Then he brought out a knife and stabbed her in the neck multiple times.

He also assaulted the man who attempted to assist the woman.

The identity of the victims was likewise kept secret.

The offender was detained on charges of attempted murder and violent assault, according to Berlin's general state prosecutor's office.

According to police, the suspect may be suffering from mental illness.

However, prosecutors and criminal police are investigating him on suspicion of being motivated by Islamist ideology in his attack.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

A 29-year-old Afghan guy attacked and severely injured a 58-year-old landscape gardener while she was working in a park in Berlin's Wilmersdorf area on Sunday. The man allegedly attacked the woman because he didn't like the idea that she was working as a woman, according to the authorities.

A 29-year-old Afghan guy attacked and severely injured a 58-year-old landscape gardener while she was working in a park in Berlin's Wilmersdorf area on Sunday. The man allegedly attacked the woman because he didn't like the idea that she was working as a woman, according to the authorities. On Saturday afternoon, the assailant allegedly approached the victim and spoke with her. He then abruptly pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the neck numerous times. A 66-year-old passerby, who tried to come to the woman's rescue, was also severely injured. According to police, the perpetrator approached the victim and spoke to her, despite the fact that his identity was not revealed due to German privacy rules. Then he brought out a knife and stabbed her in the neck multiple times. He also assaulted the man who attempted to assist the woman. The identity of the victims was likewise kept secret. The offender was detained on charges of attempted murder and violent assault, according to Berlin's general state prosecutor's office. According to police, the suspect may be suffering from mental illness. However, prosecutors and criminal police are investigating him on suspicion of being motivated by Islamist ideology in his attack. (With inputs from agencies)

Afghan man in Germany attacks a woman with a knife for 'working'

According to a new case report, a 23-year-old student in Germany has the ability to shrink and enlarge his pupils on demand a feat that was previously considered impossible.

Each eye has two tiny opposing muscles that control the pupil (the dark center of the eye), allowing more light in a dark environment and limiting the amount of light when entering a bright environment.

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Until recently, it was believed that this process was completely automatic.&nbsp;A few people have previously been known to have the ability to change their pupil size, but only indirectly.

The study's senior author, Christoph Strauch, an assistant professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, explains that researchers already knew that thinking about the sun could constrict pupils and imagining a dark room or mentally calculating something could dilate them.&nbsp;

Yet no one knew it was possible to change pupil size by directly controlling it, until a psychology student in Germany, after taking one of Strauch's courses, contacted him.&nbsp;

DW, the young man, identified in the case report by his initials, realized that he could change the size of his pupils when he was about fifteen or sixteen years old.

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He told the researchers that constricting the pupil felt like gripping or tensing something, while expanding it felt like releasing, relaxing it.

Initially, he was able to change the size of his pupil by focusing in front of or behind an object, but eventually, he learned how to do it without focusing. For him to change his pupil size, he only needs to focus on the eye; his environment doesn't need to be bright or dark in order to do this.&nbsp;

Strauch told Live Science that this differentiates DW from others who have shown the ability to change their pupil size. What's even more fascinating is that he can feel the muscles directly in the pupils, which was thought to be impossible.

Researchers confirmed DW's ability to change the size of his pupils through tests, but found no indication he was doing it indirectly.&nbsp;DW could dilate his pupils to a diameter of 0.09 inches (2.4 millimetres) and constrict them to a diameter of 0.03 inches (0.88 millimetres) without using any indirect methods.

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As a result, he improved his focus, and his eyesight significantly, to the point that compared to others, he can now see objects that are twice as close to his face.

Researchers observed an increase in activity in&nbsp;volitional impulses, or certain parts of the brain related to free will, using a type of brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Strauch speculates that it might be possible&nbsp;for other people to learn this. It may be possible to develop a training method for people to control pupil size at will through finding and researching more people who possess this ability.

According to a new case report, a 23-year-old student in Germany has the ability to shrink and enlarge his pupils on demand a feat that was previously considered impossible.

According to a new case report, a 23-year-old student in Germany has the ability to shrink and enlarge his pupils on demand a feat that was previously considered impossible. Each eye has two tiny opposing muscles that control the pupil (the dark center of the eye), allowing more light in a dark environment and limiting the amount of light when entering a bright environment. Also read | Wooden flooring can turn footsteps into electricity, here is how Until recently, it was believed that this process was completely automatic. A few people have previously been known to have the ability to change their pupil size, but only indirectly. The study's senior author, Christoph Strauch, an assistant professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, explains that researchers already knew that thinking about the sun could constrict pupils and imagining a dark room or mentally calculating something could dilate them. Yet no one knew it was possible to change pupil size by directly controlling it, until a psychology student in Germany, after taking one of Strauch's courses, contacted him. DW, the young man, identified in the case report by his initials, realized that he could change the size of his pupils when he was about fifteen or sixteen years old. Also read | Skeleton of world's biggest triceratops goes on sale He told the researchers that constricting the pupil felt like gripping or tensing something, while expanding it felt like releasing, relaxing it. Initially, he was able to change the size of his pupil by focusing in front of or behind an object, but eventually, he learned how to do it without focusing. For him to change his pupil size, he only needs to focus on the eye; his environment doesn't need to be bright or dark in order to do this. Strauch told Live Science that this differentiates DW from others who have shown the ability to change their pupil size. What's even more fascinating is that he can feel the muscles directly in the pupils, which was thought to be impossible. Researchers confirmed DW's ability to change the size of his pupils through tests, but found no indication he was doing it indirectly. DW could dilate his pupils to a diameter of 0.09 inches (2.4 millimetres) and constrict them to a diameter of 0.03 inches (0.88 millimetres) without using any indirect methods. Also read | Another hidden Covid risk: Lingering kidney problems As a result, he improved his focus, and his eyesight significantly, to the point that compared to others, he can now see objects that are twice as close to his face. Researchers observed an increase in activity in volitional impulses, or certain parts of the brain related to free will, using a type of brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Strauch speculates that it might be possible for other people to learn this. It may be possible to develop a training method for people to control pupil size at will through finding and researching more people who possess this ability.

Science says it's impossible: A man who can change his pupils size voluntarily

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