On 5th July 2007, the German Bundestag passed the Second Act Governing Copyright in the Information Society ("Second Basket" of copyright law reform). Four years after the first reform, a new balance has been struck between the interests of authors, exploiters, equipment producers and end-users, none of whom are, however, especially happy with the compromise solution....
more
It all started with the devastating defeat of the Social
Democrats in
North Rhine-Westphalia; after 39 years in power, they lost the state
elections on May 22 to the CDU. With 37.1 percent of the vote (5.7
percent less than in 2000), the SPD had its worst election results in
the state in 50 years. At the same time the defeat marked the end of
the
last state government coalition of the SDP and the Green Party.
Two things followed: Chancellor Gerhard Schröder immediately declared that he wanted to schedule new elections
in
the autumn of this year. Following a self-initiated parliamentary vote of
non-confidence in his leadership, Schröder now awaits German President
Köhler's decision on whether elections can be held this fall. And in their
anticipation, a new leftist alliance has been founded, the
Linkspartei, bringing together the PDS (successor party to the East
German communist party) and the WASG (the West German Electoral Alternative
for Labour and Social Justice). Polls show the new alliance could win ten
percent of the vote.
The probable fall election has stirred up German politics in a major way: What will become of the labour-oriented SPD? Will the
Linkspartei replace the Greens as Germany's third strongest party? And
above all: What do the conservatives want? We have put together a
collection of articles.
The last rock 'n' roller of German politics
Joschka Fischer, Germany's Foreign Minister and figurehead of the Green Party,
has announced that he will be stepping back from the political front
line with the end of the red-green government. In an interview with the
taz, Fischer reflects on what this means for his party, his country and himself.
read more
What was Schröder on?
There
was something surreal about Gerhard Schröder's appearence on national
television last night. Although his party was second in the polls,
Schröder saw the victory quite clearly as his own. And anyone who saw
matters differently, an idiot. Arno Widmann asks the question that is on the minds of many Germans today: what was Schröder on?
read more
Indulging a penchant for paradox
What
do you get when you cross Left and Right? Gerhard Schröder the double
paradox: a chancellor who backs social protest against his own
policies, and a ruler who deprives himself of power in a bid to reclaim
it. By Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht
read more
Standing in file
Tanja Dückers
writes a huffy retort to Eva Menasse's recent claim that German
writers' refusal to take a public stance in the federal election
campaign reflects opportunism.
read more
Writers! Break free of your routine!
Why I'm getting involved in the current federal election campaign. By Eva Menasse
read more
Sighing, sweating, screeching
The run-up to the German federal elections is awash with blood, sweat and tears as Schröder, Merkel and Co. give their all. But the voters aren't having any of it. By Jörg Lau
read more
Merkel's a total cutie!
Christoph Schlingensief's
controversial "Parsifal" is showing at the Wagner Festival for the
second year running. He talks to Tina Hildebrandt and Stephan Lebert
about hero impersonators in politics, zombies in Bayreuth and
pre-election Germany.
read more
The big lie
Sociologist Ulrich Beck
explains why German politicians' idea of full employment is an illusion
and why Kafka's works belong to the classics of sociology.
read more
What do the conservatives want?
If Germany's conservatives win the coming elections in September
they'll be more powerful than ever before. But what do they actually
want? By Gustav Seibt
read more
Who are Germany's new young conservatives?
Now that Gerhard Schröder has admitted failure to himself and the rest
of the world, German conservatives are being summoned back from
political Siberia and pushed into the spotlight. But are they even
still alive? By Mariam Lau
read more
Writers warn about Linkspartei
A group of German writers have signed a public condemnation against what it sees as dangerously populist sentiments behind the new 'Linkspartei'.
read more
Merkel's new middle
The Germany that makes the headlines is one of hedge-fund 'locusts' and
burgeoning numbers of unemployed. Don't believe the hype: the upcoming
German federal elections will be fought out in the middle. But unless
the Germans stop expecting to be spoon fed by the state, and get
proactive, little will be gained by a change of government. By Paul Nolte
read more
The Berlin Republic
So cunning is history: The cornerstones of the Berlin Republic – the
departure from the social market economy, the rediscovery of war, the
mistrust of the state for its citizens, the historicisation of the
Holocaust – were laid by the West German 68ers. An attempt by a member
of the old German Federal Republic to come to terms with the country he
lives in. By Arno Widmann
read more
Loveable losers in the Ruhrpott
The surprising defeat of the SPD in the state elections in North-Rhine
Westphalia has set a process in motion that will probably result in new
federal leadership in Germany. Writer and comedian Frank Goosen describes in an interview what his fellow Ruhrpotters think about this, if anything at all.
read more
RSS
Dragan Klaic arrived in Skopje on the day that Greece vetoed Macedonia's bid to join NATO at the summit in Bucharest. He found a nation reeling from this unexpected slap in the face.
No-one knows what the anti-Koran film 'Fitna' by the Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders contains exactly. But fearing Muslim anger many are ready to make concessions regarding the fundamental freedom of expression. Gelijn Molier looks to nineteenth century philosopher John Stuart Mill for advice.
The deportation of Romanians from Italy in the wake of a murder committed by an ethnic Roma has caused a stir in Romania. Yet whereas Romanians object to this discrimination abroad, they fail to see that at home the Roma are treated with nothing but hatred and disdain, and neither the Church nor the state is doing anything about it. By Mircea Cartarescu
Since the 19th century Ukrainians have been dreaming of a return to the paradise lost of Europe. But Ukraine's rich and painful history remains a blank spot in the European collective consciousness, or a mighty underground river flowing out of Europe's cellar, littered with corpses. By Oksana Zabuzhko
The Amsterdam district of Slotervaart, where Theo van Gogh's murderer lived, continues to be plagued by outbreaks of violence from youths in the immigrant communities. Many of their parents have withdrawn from what they perceive as the hostile outside world, which they invariably blame when their children go astray. By Margalith Kleijwegt
The sexual revolution has run itself aground on the back of standardisation and banality. It's time to fight Hefnerism with radicalisation not restriction, declares Dylan van Rijsbergen 
No sooner were the fires put out reelected the government that bore the than Greek votersbrunt of responsibility for the tragedy. Did those who suffered so much learn no lesson from their distress? Crime writer Petros Markaris looks at why the Greeks have failed to find their way out of the political crisis rocking their country. 
The third anti-porn campaign of the women's feminist magazine Emma is absolutely necessary and, at the same time, hopelessly old-fashioned. You can't use the tools of the 70s to fight the pornographication of today's market - at least not if you want to win. By Iris Radisch 
Russian journalist and Putin critic Grigori Pasko talks with Tobias Goltz about the North Stream Pipeline, Russia's state-controlled media and how his like-minded colleagues are dropping off like flies. 
The elites of East Germany lack orientation, as only the West has left its imprint on the power structure. Roland Mischke talks with political scientist Gunnar Hinck about imbalances and incompetences among East German leaders.