Monday: The Surprises of Boris Rhein
Boris Rhein has succeeded in two surprises: a remarkable one and a significant one. The Hessian Prime Minister has ousted the Greens from the government after ten years and, with his new partner, SPD, agreed on banning gender language.
Also in the new issue:
Greens in Dilemma: The Eco Party between Traffic Light Coalition and Base
Struggle for the Miracle Fuel: Can E-Fuels Save the Combustion Engine?
Vienna in Winter: 48 Hours in the Most Beautiful City for Gloomy Days
In the homeland of Goethe, the German language must not be mutilated. In schools, authorities, universities, and at the Hessian Broadcasting Corporation, the use of gender language with special characters is no longer permitted. Politically, this decision is a marginal issue, but it will appeal to many citizens. The language obsession of leftist groups annoys the vast majority in the rest of the country as well.
With the Greens, who are now lamenting their lost offices, the protection of the German language would probably not have been possible.
For Boris Rhein, a more important motive for the change of partner was the burning issue of migration.
Tuesday: The Turkey and the EU
When Chancellor Scholz welcomes the Turkish President Erdogan to Germany, he will be glad that Turkey did not become a member of the European Union. The country has been on the waiting list for 24 years.
Since Turkey received the status of an official candidate for EU membership in 1999, it has experienced a constant fluctuation between approval and rejection.
Today, as Erdogan elevates the Hamas terrorists as a liberation movement and takes a strong position against Israel, Scholz must be glad that the then-Chancellor Schröder and his Green partners did not prevail.
Similar to The Left, they advocated for serious negotiations with the aim of accession. The Union and the FDP were skeptical.
At times, the Turkish government could draw hope. In 2006, negotiations on compatibility in the fields of science and research were conducted. There were no issues in these sectors.
Turkey also received a significant amount of money for the discussions. Under the title “Pre-Accession Assistance,” the EU paid more than 9 billion euros to the prospective member over the years.
Due to the undemocratic conditions in the country, the negotiations were eventually discontinued. Turkey made no concessions regarding religious freedom for non-Muslims and certain criminal law provisions.
When comparing the shifting positions of European countries on Turkey’s accession, a constant factor appears: Austria has always been against it.
FOCUS founding editor-in-chief Helmut Markwort has been a FDP representative in the Bavarian State Parliament since 2018.
