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Current Affairs 
 

Far-Right Crisis in Thuringia

Merkel’s CDU was plunged into crisis on Wednesday after the election of an FDP politician as Thuringia’s State Premier using votes from the far-right AfD. Thomas Kemmerich beat Die Linke with the backing of both the CDU and the AfD; the AfD did not submit any votes for their own candidate.

Merkel accused Thuringian CDU politicians of betraying the German political boycott of all collaboration with the AfD, and fired key CDU commissioner Christian Hirte for expressing congratulations to Kemmerich.

No German politician has been elected to such a level thanks to assistance from a far-right party since World War II. Kemmerich immediately resigned following the controversy, and is standing down with immediate effect. Thuringian politicians will meet on 18 February to discuss a rerun of the election.

Elsewhere

According to a survey by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, dissatisfaction with democracy is almost twice as high in former Eastern states than the Western. 

Deutsche Welle published an article discussing the proposal for May 8 to become a national holiday in Germany and the surrounding historical controversies.

In a bid to secure manufacturing jobs, economy minister Peter Altmaier hinted towards state financial support for Tesla if it meets sustainability targets with its new ‘gigafactory’ near Berlin.

Weekly

Follow the latest opinion polls here.

Thomas Kemmerich of the FDP is congratulated by Bjoern Hoecke of the AfD (right) after his election as regional prime minister.  Source: Reuters
Weekly Poll

Is Angela Merkel losing control of the CDU?

YES          NO          NOT SURE

Last week, we asked if Germany mourn the departure of the UK from the EU?


88% of you answered 'yes'.
Arts & Culture

Timothy Garton Ash’s talk in Oxford: the lessons of 1989
 

Charlemagne Prize winner Timothy Garton Ash gave a rousing talk for History Society at Oxford University in which he provided an insight into the events of the revolution from his own ring-side seat.
 
Garton Ash had befriended several dissidents by the end of the Cold War and rushed to the scene when the wall came down, witnessing first-hand the unravelling of a regime which is often deemed as having been inevitable in post-Wende narratives.
 
Calling on Henri Bergson’s theory of retrospective determinism: the temptation of thinking what happened under certain circumstances indeed had to happen due to those circumstances; Garton Ash emphasized the importance of inspecting the other paths history might have taken, and string of accidental occurrences which led to the Mauerfall. 

For example, Politburo official Schabowski’s blunder, the consequent ‘fake news’ in Western media about borders opening, and a border guard’s split decision to open a gate.


Continue reading the full article here.
Sport
  • Leverkusen take the spoils in breathless encounter
In the Bundesliga game of the season so far, Bayer Leverkusen grabbed all three points from Borussia Dortmund’s grasp. The lead changed hands frequently at BayArena, with Dortmund poised to join pacesetters Bayern Munich on 42 points with only 9 minutes remaining. But two goals in two minutes gave Leverkusen a 4-3 lead which they were able to hold onto. Lars Bender nodded in the decisive winner from a corner. See the full report here.
  • Elsewhere
Two goals from Marius Bülter helped Union Berlin to an away victory at Werder Bremen, as they continue their impressive season after promotion. 9th-placed Eintracht Frankfurt gave a warning to the sides above them with a thumping 5-0 win over Ausburg, leapfrogging them in the table in the process. Schalke could only draw with basement club Paderborn, Hertha BSC lost at the Olympiastadion to Mainz and Freiburg were victorious over Hoffenheim in a tight matchup.
  • Sunday preview
Bayern Munich welcome the Timo Werner-inspired RB Leipzig to Bavaria in a mouth-watering top of the table clash. Bayern come into the game in red-hot form, whilst Leipzig have stuttered slightly in recent weeks, and will look to reclaim top spot with a successful trip to the Allianz Arena.
Game of the Week
      Bundesliga Standings
Moment.de Website Reads
  Berlin: an unlikely vegan hotspot
 
Germany in the UK
 
The LSE's German Symposium took place last week and featured a number of high profile guests, including Germany's ambassador to the UK Peter Wittig and a number of talks on a range of economic, political and social issues. See the programme here.
 

'Voices of the German resistance' is a recital of German Lieder interspersed with readings from the White Rose members’ pamphlets, letters, and diaries in English. It takes place in Oxford on March 17th .
 

The Ace Cafe in London plays host to several 'German nights' during the next few months.

Henning Wehn performs his new comedy show ‘Get on with it’ at Lincoln University on March 7th.

Music

Song of the week is: Wenn Sie Kommen by Namika (2015)
Word of the Week 

         etwas durch die Blume sagen
         Phrasal verb: to say something in a roundabout way
 
The phrase etw. durch die Blume sagen is a colloquial idiomatic expression which is used to refer to situations where someone says something in an indirect way.

The literal translation would be to say something through the flower. If you notice someone is talking to you in a roundabout way, you could respond with Vielen Dank für die Blumen which means I understood the hidden criticism.

Synonymous expressions: etwas verblümt sagen; (similar) um den heißen Brei herumreden [to beat around the bush]
  • Was man von den anderen hält, sagt man oft durch die Blume. = What one thinks of the others is often said in an indirect way.
  • Wer Missverständnisse vermeiden möchte, sollte nichts durch die Blume sagen, sondern offen ansprechen, was er meint und will. = If you wish to avoid misunderstandings, do not say anything in a veiled way, but speak openly about what you mean and want.
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