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MPs plan pause for run-in with USA

German MPs will stop work to watch their team's World Cup clash against USA on Thursday night - to avoid any controversial bills being passed by a few stragglers in parliament.

Published: 24 June 2014 08:56 CEST
MPs plan pause for run-in with USA
German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen celebrates Germany's 4-0 win against Portugal on June 16th. Photo: DPA

"We will stop proceedings in good time before the start of the game," said SPD fraction head Thomas Oppermann on Monday night, referring to Thursday's match scheduled to start at 6pm.

The idea is to avoid a repeat of the scandal two years ago, when during Germany's Euro 2012 semi-final match against Italy an almost-empty parliament session passed a hugely unpopular bill allowing authorities to sell citizens' address details to businesses.  

Much time and effort was wasted going back and changing the law again afterwards, when it was shown to be incompatible with Germany's strict data protection laws.  

Meanwhile, both the German coach Joachim Löw and German-born USA coach Jürgen Klinsmann have insisted they will only be playing to win after facing repeated questions about whether the old friends may have struck a deal ahead of Thursday's face-off.

The United States' 2-2 draw with Portugal in Group G on Sunday has left Klinsmann's side level on four points with Germany heading into their final group game.

A draw in Thursday's match in Recife would see Germany qualify as group winners with the United States finishing runners up – leaving Ghana and Portugal in limbo regardless of their result the same day.

That scenario has brought back memories of the notorious 1982 group match in Gijon, Spain, between West Germany and Austria. Almost exactly 32 years ago to the day, both teams qualified at the expense of Algeria after a mutually beneficial 1-0 German victory in which both sides went through the motions.

Current German head coach Joachim Löw was Klinsmann's assistant when Germany finished third at the 2006 World Cup and journalists questioned whether the old friends had struck a deal.

Germany's assistant coach Hansi Flick and defender Mats Hummels strongly denied there would be any repeat of the 1982 fiasco after being repeatedly posed the question.

"I can only say a concrete 'no', we've already said we want to win the game and that's how we'll play over 90 minutes," insisted Flick in Monday's press conference.

And Hummels said the Germans had no interest in anything other than a victory. "It would be unsportsmanlike to do that and not fair, besides we want to win the game," said the centre-back. "We're not playing for any result other than a victory."

Klinsmann echoed his compatriots by insisting there is no chance of similar skulduggery from 1982 – dubbed the 'Disgrace of Gijon' – tarnishing Thursday's match.

"You're talking about a game that is decades ago," Klinsmann said. "That is only a part of Germany's history and not part of the United States' history. I think if you look at the past of the US team, we always try to make things happen.

"We will go to Recife and we will give everything to beat Germany. That is our goal."

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POLITICS

ANALYSIS: What’s at stake in Germany’s eastern state elections?

After success in Thuringia and Saxony, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) may well come in first in another eastern state election this Sunday. We spoke with a political scientist to analyse what's at stake as Brandenburg goes to the polls.

Published: 19 September 2024 09:11 CEST
ANALYSIS: What's at stake in Germany's eastern state elections?

German politics’ “eastern September” is set to finally end Sunday – with more ruminations and reflections likely to come about the recent fortunes of the far-right AfD at the ballot box.

If current polls are anything to go by, the AfD could come in first in the eastern state encircling Berlin – which counts Potsdam as its capital.

After overtaking the governing Social Democrats (SPD) in a recent shock poll, the party is currently at around 28 percent, compared to the SPD on 25 percent. The centre-right Christian Democrats come in at 16 percent in the latest poll and the left-populist Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – named after its founder – charts in at 14 percent.

The remaining parties come in much lower – with the Greens, Left and liberal Free Democrats all facing possible ejection from the state parliament.

Another victory for the AfD – or even a strong showing should the SPD still manage a narrow surprise win – will certainly boost the far-right’s confidence, after it came in first in Thuringia and second in Saxony earlier this month, following state elections that saw all three of Germany’s federally governing parties take massive losses.

Thuringia and Saxony results will likely hang over Brandenburg on Sunday – with Germany’s governing parties, many everyday Germans, and foreigners all watching with some trepidation. Here’s what to watch out for following the Brandenburg result.

READ ALSO: ‘Political earthquake’ – What the far-right AfD state election win means for Germany 

A newly confident AfD insists it must be part of government

The AfD has repeatedly argued that it must be considered as a possible coalition partner to join German governments – whether at the federal, state, or local level. 

“There are no politics without the AfD,” its co-leader Tino Chrupalla said following the Thuringia results. However, all other parties have explicitly refused to work with the AfD to form a governing coalition – meaning that as high as its results this month have been, they fall well short of the absolute majority that would be required to govern alone.

READ ALSO: ‘We need change’: Germany’s far-right eyes power after state election win

However, its getting more difficult to form coalitions to keep the AfD out, with the centre-right CDU in Thuringia even open to governing with the leftwing populist BSW after mainstream parties like the Greens and FDP were thrown out of state parliament entirely.

University of Mainz political scientist Kai Arzheimer, who specialises in the German far-right, says whether the far-right ever get into a German government or not depends mostly on whether – and how – the CDU is willing to work with the AfD.

Thuringia election results on a screen

People watch the first exit polls results for Thuringia’s state elections come in at the State Parliament in Erfurt on September 1st, 2024. Photo by Joerg CARSTENSEN / AFP

“For the time being, it should be able to form coalitions against the AfD, even if they are rather awkward,” says Arzheimer, who adds that even the different regional chapters of the CDU may have different opinions about working with the AfD.

“Within the eastern state parties of both the CDU and the FDP, there seems to be some appetite for coming to an arrangement with the AfD. While a formal coalition would probably split either party, we have already seen some tentative moves towards an informal cooperation.”

Ultimately, the Brandmauer or “firewall” concept in German politics – in which all other parties refuse to work with the AfD – may end up coming under increasing stress on the back of eastern state election results, where governing with the far-right no longer becomes unthinkable.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Could the far-right AfD ever take power in Germany?

What the mainstream parties take from eastern election results

It’s probably no coincidence that Germany’s ruling government decided to re-institute border controls at its land borders with other EU states shortly after the AfD topped the Thuringia state poll, according to Arzheimer, who says the elections are just the latest in a number of things at work when if comes to Germany’s migration debate.

“The border controls, the plans for the stricter enforcement of repatriation orders, and most of all the government’s harsher rhetoric are as much a reaction to Saxony and Thuringia as they are an attempt to control the fallout from the Solingen knife attack and a response to the whole ‘debate’ on immigration,” he says.

“Many experts seem to agree that they are neither practical nor that useful, and introducing them more or less overnight smacks of a degree of panic.”

READ ALSO: Should foreign residents in Germany be concerned about far-right AfD win?

Polls conducted following the election found that migration and internal security issues were big drivers of the AfD vote – despite these being issues for the national, rather than regional, government. 

Of the AfD voters in Thuringia, more than 70 percent said either migration or crime and internal security played the largest role in influencing their vote. Slightly less than ten percent said social security. Despite the AfD’s pro-Russian views, only three percent of AfD voters in Thuringia said Germany’s support of Ukraine decisively influenced their votes.

Besides the mainstream parties like the SPD reacting with spur-of-the-moment migration policies, the Brandenburg result may end up putting pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz from within his own SPD.

Brandenburg SPD’s Dietmar Woidke may still be able to hold onto the premiership, but he has said he will resign if he doesn’t beat the AfD outright. Should he lose, calls may grow louder within the SPD for Scholz to resign himself – or at least declare that he won’t stand as a chancellor candidate again.

READ ALSO: How an explosive row over immigration has divided Germany

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