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Das Kürzel BSW im Vereinsnamen darf man wohl mit Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht übersetzen. Begründet wird die Vereinsvorstufe damit, dass auf diesem Weg der Kreis der Aktivsten zunächst klein und übersichtlich bleiben soll und »Extremisten und Spinner« (Wagenknecht) ferngehalten werden sollen. Eine Parteigründung wird für Anfang 2024 ins Auge gefasst, weil das parteienrechtlich mehr Wahlkampf­kosten­erstattung etwa für eine Kandidatur bei der Europawahl möglich macht.

NOĒMA:

For Gray, the presumed neutrality of “legalist liberalism” has two disabling flaws.

“The first flaw is that the rule of law is taken as an accomplished fact, which is not the case anywhere in the world. … The rule of law is not the precondition of politics, but is itself a political achievement. Unless you have a political settlement underpinning the rule of law, the rule of law will be insecure or contested.“

The Trump trials, the U.S. Supreme Court rulings of late, the legal battles in American states over guns, abortion and LGBTQ issues all testify to the truth of this statement, as do questions over the rights of asylum and immigration in both the U.S. and Europe.

I found this interesting. For some years I have been impressed with the fallacy of demonstrators and politicians seeking to „shame“ power into „doing the right thing“ as if ExxonMobil or Jeff Bezos „just doesn’t understand“ the harm they are causing someone’s family. Currently the public discussion around asylum very much takes this tone – „but, but don’t you understand?? Surely you can’t mean that – that violates the rule of law!“ This presupposes a rule of law which does not prevail. For example:

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Die Grüne gäben ihre humanitären Grundsätze auf, lautet ein Vorwurf

Denn die geplante GEAS-Reform sehe eine „historisch beispiellose Verschärfung des in der EU geltenden Asyl-Rechts vor“. Entgegen den Behauptungen der eigenen Parteispitze könnten selbst Schutzsuchende aus Syrien und Afghanistan künftig in den geplanten geschlossenen Lagern an den Außengrenzen eingesperrt und ohne Prüfung ihrer Fluchtgründe in Drittstaaten außerhalb der EU abgeschoben werden, heißt es weiter.

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Vizekanzler Robert Habeck hatte kürzlich schon einen neuen Kurs der Grünen in der Migrationspolitik angedeutet. Seine Partei sei zu pragmatischen Lösungen bereit, um den Zuzug bereits an den EU-Außengrenzen zu senken, sagte der grüne Wirtschaftsminister unlängst in einem Interview. Wenn die Grünen das Recht auf Asyl weiter schützen wollten, dann müssten sie „die Wirklichkeit annehmen und die konkreten Probleme lösen – auch, wenn es bedeutet, moralisch schwierige Entscheidungen zu treffen.“ Die Grünen wüssten, dass sie eine Verantwortung tragen, sagte Habeck weiter.

What „Wirklichkeit“? What „konkreten Probleme“ root causes for refugees fleeing to Europe can Grünen possibly imagine they can contribute to solving? What do Grünen hold onto these days? It’s not just the Grünen, of course – whether Democrats in the US or Labour in the UK rank and file seems desperately clinging to illusions despite all contrary evidence.

Die Linke made a burst of effort to capture eco issue relevance, but since the publicity around EU Parliament candidate nominations they seem to have retreated into housing as a safe place, leaving the Ukraine war as well as climate destruction unaddressed. Die Linke in Bayern have a friendly campaign ad around affordable housing, whereas Die Linke Hesse have a hard-hitting spot pointing out the rich profited from the Covid pandemic and calling for a tax on millionaires.

My local Abgeordnete, Niklas Schenker, is focused on the preservation of both affordable housing and Berlin Club Culture. Do Bayern and Berlin perhaps have no millionaires? The September 2 demonstration against the Ukraine war endorsed by Die Linke turned out a claimed 700 protesters. The war seems to be a given, untouchable as an issue on which to campaign.

Along with many others I am looking forward to Sunday’s elections in Bayern and Hesse. I am curious whether after the election returns are digested a Wagenknecht announcement may follow.

Class of high school students is listening to a lesson. The passage on the wall tells of villages „from the old man to the infant“ being taken to the woods and shot, the bodies burned. „We ask our brothers to punish our murderers … witnesses, tell of our murders throughout the world.“ As I walked up the young man in the red shirt to the right was tossing a small ball in the air and catching it again and again. At first I couldn’t believe it, but then I remembered. I’ve seen groups of kids at various sites. Kids will be kids.

This is new since I was here last year, but it is also new in striking ways: there is no other memorial plaque with „Contributed By“. When the Goldstein family mourns their grandparents who were murdered, when worshippers of Koło remember those from Koło burned alive when the Nazis torched their synagogue it is reasonable to assume that it is Goldstein and Koło descendants paying for the plaque. There is no need to say this – I mean seriously, why would you put donor credit on a plaque? But there it is, the „Contributed By“ and moreover the whole complex „Financed from the budget of …“ banner at the bottom. I wonder if this is the PiS at work.