Merkel’s coalition faces rough ride in regional election
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition could face a further drubbing at the polls Sunday in a regional election in Germany’s poorest state, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) have been junior coalition partners to the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) in the sparsely populated state on the Baltic shore but could be knocked out and replaced by the Left party or even the Greens.
Analysis: Merkel vulnerable as euro and Libya backlash builds
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Angela Merkel faces the biggest challenge to her leadership since coming to power in 2005, with traditionally loyal conservative allies openly criticizing her approach to the euro zone crisis and her hands-off Libya policy in shambles.
Seen for much of the past six years as a reliable, steady leader whose competence and knack for brokering deals made up for a lack of bold vision, Merkel’s image has taken a beating over the past months and polls show an increasing number of Germans view her government as directionless.
Schaeuble warns coalition MPs to back EFSF reforms
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned members of parliament in his ruling coalition that financial markets may doubt Europe’s ability to act if they fail to back measures bolstering the powers of the euro zone bailout fund.
Schaeuble was quoted telling the Tagesspiegel am Sonntag newspaper he was confident deputies in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition would pass the measures on the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) on September 23 without having to rely on opposition votes.
Analysis: German rail to run on sun, wind to keep clients happy
BERLIN (Reuters) – It won’t be easy to run a national railway on renewable energy like wind, hydro and solar power but that is what Germany’s Deutsche Bahn aims to do for one simple reason: it’s what consumers want.
Deutsche Bahn says it wants to raise the percentage of wind, hydro and solar energy to power its trains from 20 percent now to 28 percent in 2014 and become carbon-free by 2050.
German rail to run on sun, wind to keep clients happy
BERLIN (Reuters) – It won’t be easy to run a national railway on renewable energy like wind, hydro and solar power but that is what Germany’s Deutsche Bahn aims to do for one simple reason: it’s what consumers want.
Deutsche Bahn says it wants to raise the percentage of wind, hydro and solar energy to power its trains from 20 percent now to 28 percent in 2014 and become carbon-free by 2050.
German government no longer rules out euro bonds: report
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government no longer rules out agreeing to the issuance of euro zone bonds as a measure of last resort to save the single currency, conservative newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday.
Even though Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Economy Minister Philipp Roesler again spoke out against euro zone bonds and debt collectivization, Welt am Sonntag reported the German government is nevertheless considering that and other measures.
Berlin Wall, 1961-1989, R.I.P
There is something a bit bizarre, yet fascinating, about the way Berlin and the local media mark the anniversaries of the Berlin Wall’s construction on Aug. 13, 1961 and the anniversaries of its collapse on Nov. 9, 1989.
There are many of the same things each time: sombre speeches, fancy ceremonies, countless thousands of stories in the print and TV media and a general consensus that A) the Wall was a horrible thing B) the Communists who built it were loathsome liars C) its collapse was a glorious moment in German history and D) its memory should serve as a global symbol of the yearning for freedom.
Yet like Berlin itself, which has gone through what are probably the most dynamic changes of any big city in Europe in the last two decades, elements of the commemorations have been shifting over the years and the city’s view of the wall has also been transformed. Incredibly enough, some Germans now miss the Wall – a few diehards both east and west who feel their standing of living has gone down since 1989 want it back the most (about 10 percent, according to a recent poll) . But many others, especially those too young to remember it, lament that there is so little left of it to see and feel.
Indeed, almost all of the Wall is gone. Yet 10 million tourists still come to Berlin each year looking for it. “Where’s the Wall?” is probably one of the most commonly asked questions by visitors. The answer – unfortunate or fortunate, depending on your point of view – is that there’s almost nothing left.
It was all torn down in a rush to obliterate the hated barrier in late 1989 and early 1990. Only a few small segments were saved – one 80 metre-long section, for instance, behind the Finance Ministry that was saved thanks to one Greens politician who declared it to under “Denkmalschutz” – a listed monument. That enraged many Berliners at the time.
Despite the lack of Berlin Wall to look at and touch, a thriving cottage industry has grown up at some of the places where it once stood. You can get a “DDR” stamp in your passport if you want from a menacing looking soldier in an authentic East German border guard uniform (who appreciates tips) at Checkpoint Charlie or have your picture taken with others wearing Russian army uniforms. You can buy Wall souvenirs at many of the points where the Wall once stood.
Some leaders such as Mayor Klaus Wowereit now admit it might have been a mistake, from today’s point of view, to so hastily tear down all but a few tiny bits of the Wall in 1989. “There’s a general complaint that the demolition of the Wall was a bit too extensive,” he told me recently. “That’s understandable from today’s point of view and it would probably have been better for tourists if more of it could have been preserved. But at the time we were all just so happy to see the Wall gone.”
Berlin mayor criticizes nostalgia for Berlin Wall
BERLIN (Reuters) – Berlin’s mayor said on Saturday he was appalled that some Germans were nostalgic for the Berlin Wall and supported a newly fashionable leftist view that there were legitimate reasons for building it in 1961.
At a somber ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s construction, Mayor Klaus Wowereit, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulff paid tribute to the 136 people killed trying to get over the Wall to West Berlin.
Berlin Wall Trail a surreal journey into city’s past
BERLIN (Reuters) – It was once one of the world’s most deadly frontiers but has since been converted into one of the planet’s most fascinating bicycle paths — a green belt that offers a surreal ride into Berlin history.
The “Berliner Mauerweg” (Berlin Wall Trail) follows the wall’s 160-km (100-mile) route and the accompanying “death strip” that encircled West Berlin during the dark decades of the Cold War.
Berlin Wall makes comeback for tourists
BERLIN (Reuters) – The Berlin Wall is making a comeback. A half century after it was built and two decades after its demise, a few bits of the Wall that once split Berlin into East and West are being reinstated for posterity to the delight of tourists seeking a glimpse of the city’s Cold War history.
Almost all of the 160 km (100 miles) of Berlin Wall that encircled West Berlin in the heart of Communist East Germany was hastily torn down or chiseled away in the euphoria after it was breached in 1989.
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