Beitrag von Dr. Wolff Group

🇨🇭 Here is an overview of the elections that took place yesterday in Switzerland. You can change the language in the menu bar. ➡ https://lnkd.in/ee6e3--D 👉 I regret the persistence of the far right which led a shameful and xenophobic campaign as well as the lack of interest in ecology but also relations with Europe. 🙂 However, on a personal point of view, I am very satisfied to have been able to follow the evolution of this campaign in recent months and to have participated in it. I was indeed able to learn a lot about democracy in Switzerland and met inspiring people : I am grateful for this. Politics can be a fantastic adventure. 🔖 In this system that cannot be considered as professionalized as in other countries, politics comes from the people: there were nearly 6,000 candidates and more than 830 for the GLP only. None of those living abroad have been elected (it only happened once in the Swiss history! Participating as a candidate in such a situation is therefore closer to activism). Finally, if the Swiss abroad are not very numerous to have voted - the voters in general this year where were not much involved - I still notice that the Fifth Switzerland is more and more present in the debates. 🥇 Congratulations to Céline Weber Koppenburg, Martin Bäumle, Kathrin Bertschy, Katja Christ, Beat Flach, Corina Gredig, Melanie Mettler, Tiana Angelina Moser, Barbara Schaffner and Jürg Grossen on their election! They will keep sharing values and promote interests that are in line with what many of the Swiss abroad believe in. 💡 Another article in French, on the key main facts to remember about this Federal vote: https://lnkd.in/ePmuBFXS #CouragedAgir #Electionsfederales #ConseilNational #Switzerland #PVL #GLP #Swisslivingabroad #SwissInfo #ef23

Thank you, all democracy and environmental fighters out there. If possible, please also consider to support our (in my opinion) "super" heroes: the #investigativejournalism The following disclosure from german CORRECTIVE for example, I believe had a significant influence on the fascist, pro-russian, Af'D party crashing in the polls from around 22% in Januar 2024 to 16% in the European Elections 9th June 2024. This decreas was an immens win in favour of democracy: "It was the meeting that nobody was ever meant to find out about. Back in November, high-ranking politicians from Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, neo-Nazis, and sympathetic businesspeople gathered in a hotel near Potsdam. Their agenda? Nothing less than the fine tuning of a plan for the forced deportations of millions of people currently living in Germany." LINK in english language: https://lnkd.in/eA2MbNTZ Request for support from CORRECTIV, in german language, prior regional elections in a couple of weeks for East Germany (Af'D predicted to do absolutely dangerous results above 30%. We will "lose" East Germany to the fascists/nazis. Danger of dismantling of the democracy): "Desinformation, Machtmissbrauch und Korruption bedrohen unsere Demokratie und unser soziales Miteinander. CORRECTIV begegnet diesen Herausforderungen – gemeinsam mit Ihnen. Ihre Spende fließt direkt in unsere tägliche Arbeit: in investigative Recherchen, hunderte Faktenchecks und zahlreiche Bildungsangebote. " https://lnkd.in/eAPjkrDd

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock backed multiple of our ideas from our Franco-German report in her speech at the ministerial Conference on Europe last week at the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany in Berlin. One of them regards the size and organisation of the Commission after enlargement. We think that in an EU 30+, the College needs to be either smaller or two Commissioners have to work on the same portfolio - to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. Annalena Baerbock signals willingness for both options: "Clearly – as we in this room and almost throughout Europe actually agree – we can’t just let the European Parliament and Commission get bigger and bigger. But tackling this issue will require bold decisions – from all of us. That might even mean for a country like mine, Germany, to say, “We’re prepared to do without a Commissioner for a while.” And we know, of course, that such a thought is even harder for small states in particular than it is for us. That’s why we want to make sure it would not entail giving up their say within the Commission. Another model could be that we divide up larger Commission portfolios among two or more member states, so that they could fulfil one brief jointly." 📄 Read her speech here (in English): https://lnkd.in/eXcS2NS5 📺 Or watch it here (in German): https://lnkd.in/eB2DMCMp 🖋️ Our report is here: https://lnkd.in/e5b47hiz

Space Policy for EU Strategic Autonomy @ Karlspreis Charlemagne Europe Summit 2023 Excited and happy to contribute to this year's highly topical and political #CharlemagneSummit2023, not merely as a Member of the Charlemagne Prize Academy Committee, but also as discussant of the session on #EU #spacepolicy. The salience of #space and all #emergingtech for the #FutureofEurope and its #strategicautonomy can hardly be exaggerated: First, because of the #dualuse character of space in both #civil applications, such as #safe and #secure #telecommunications or #searchandrescue operations, to vital #military #defence operations to protect the EU and safeguard its neighbourhood. And, not least, because of the importance of space as cross-cutting #criticalinfrastructure which enables many others. European Commission European External Action Service EUSPA - EU Agency for the Space Programme SatCen Michalis Ketselidis Christine Klemm

We do have a huge problem in Germany: the right-wing AfD Party and their ideological leader Höcke. If you are not familiar with the ideoligy behind this party, that gained up to 34% in surveys in Höcke's federal home state Thuringia, please read below quotes (translated via DeepL, sources only in German). First of all, under German law, Höcke can legally be called what he is: a fascist (source: https://lnkd.in/dFR_cKf3 ) He sees himself as a "disciplinarian" who "mucks out the stables" with "well-tempered cruelty". (Source: https://lnkd.in/dx88Rf8U ) His vision of the future is clear, him stating: "Even if we will unfortunately lose a few sections of the population that are too weak or unwilling to resist the advancing Africanization, Orientalization and Islamization." And he had already outlined the path to this four years ago: "Considering joining forces or forming a coalition with parts of the political establishment presupposes their purification and fundamental readjustment. This can only be expected once the old party cartel has collapsed under the growing burden of crisis." The Covid & Ukraine crises were huge catalysts for his strategic approach, also conservative parties starting to use right-wing framing, to catch AfD voters. (Source of the last two quotes, as well as others, at https://lnkd.in/dFvjSNrG ) Of course, AfD‘s official, political messages are maximum toned down compared to Höke‘s above quotes. They mainly focus on fingerpointing against the government in law, without naming reasonable and/or financially feasible solutions. Still, in the upcoming elections, the fascist Höcke could potentially become Minister President of Thuringia. Three federal state associations of the AfD are now classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as "proven right-wing extremist", others are under observation (source: https://lnkd.in/diJU_yRC ) All of them have been growing in poularity, which is also the reason why hundreds of thousands of Germans have been joning demos "against the right-wing" in the last 2.5 weeks, alone. Almost 1.7 million signatures have been collected against Höcke so far. Link to the petition: https://lnkd.in/dVTS53uh Resist the beginnings. #neveragain

USA Democratic Reform suggested (Francis Fukuyama) : 1. Part of the problem is the presidential system, coupled with the first-past-the-post electoral system, where, unlike proportional representation, you either win everything or lose everything. These two factors have contributed greatly to the level of polarization in the United States. And if we had a parliamentary system based on the British model, then a party could, for example, simply decide to replace a weak party leadership. This is not possible in the US system. 2. If the election is openly contested or there are discrepancies in the vote count, there will undoubtedly be many heavily armed people who will be angry. People who are ready to take matters into their own hands. This kind of violence is within the realm of possibility.  3. The US elections are not a referendum in the traditional sense. They will largely depend on the results in around six “swing states”. In the end, it is a handful of voters in these states who determine who will be the next president. #Indonordicassociation(dot)org Indo Nordic Strategic Association, India https://lnkd.in/gXTd47XC

I recently spoke with Julia Karnahl for Mitmischen.de regarding the upcoming Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum 2023. The forum will take place at the Bundestag, the German Parliament, in Berlin at the end of August. In the theme of “Democracy under siege – How do we make democracies more resilient?”, the forum will bring young & active minds (in national and regional politics, policy-making, and their respective fields of study) together with parliamentarians from various countries within the Baltic Sea Region for meaningful participation in the policy-making of our region. Notably - our concrete recommendations will then be presented at the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference 2023. The upholding of democratic resilience is a continuous and ever-evolving task. Establishing a healthy intergenerational dialogue via youth involvement in questions of various natures is undoubtedly one of the many crucial steps to be taken to ensure a diverse set of perspectives, convictions and truths to bring forth to the policy-making tables of all sizes and matters. All chatter aside, I am very excited and honoured to take part in this. Anticipating a tangible & meaningful outcome! 🌞 Check out the interview (German & English): https://lnkd.in/d36By32Z And for all things BSPYF: https://lnkd.in/dqu2qTJC #CBSS #BSPC #BSRYF

Biden or Trump? In light of the pivotal 2024 U.S. presidential elections, my recent op-ed (in German) emphasizes significant U.S. policy shifts that will impact Europe regardless of the election outcome. This critical moment for Europe calls for an assertive stance, enhancing security and defense, strengthening European capital markets, and forging comprehensive trade agreements. Europe needs to ensure its security, prosperity, and strategic freedom in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape.   #Geopolitics #US #EU

75 Jahre Grundgesetz Today, on 23 May 2024, is the 75th birthday of the German "Grundgesetz". The text was commissioned by the military leaders who won the 2nd World War as a preliminary set of rules for a new, democratic German state. Over time, it developed into the constitution of Germany. This written document enshrines universal human rights, balance of power, democratic structrures, and the rule of law. The Grundgesetz was written with a lot of intensive and healthy, honest debate. It is an essential part of the´rule book that maintained peace in Europe. Many maintained and developed its principles and articles in the last 75 years. Some parts of it feel timeless, others have slightly aged. The Grundgesetz continues to evolve within our democratic society and within a Europe of democratic states. I am particularly grateful for the brave people who enabled the peaceful unification of Germany 35 years ago, creating freedom in the Eastern parts of Germany and a more diverse and more democratic country based on the Grundgesetz. The German Grundgesetz, similar to other democratic constitutions, needs us. While we enjoy the freedom and respect of a democratic society, please help to preserve and develop democracy, e.g. register to vote. Read it yourself (in German). For those engaged in science and research, look up Art 3 Abs 5, Wissenschaftsfreiheit. Happy Birthday Grundgesetz, and may you long continue to develop! https://lnkd.in/eq_NXGZx.

Kremlin 'sees liberal democracy as its biggest enemy', warns Estonia's head of government. Die WELT reports that during her visit to Berlin, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas accused the Russian government of seeing liberal democracy as its "greatest enemy". "For the Kremlin, democratic governance in Europe is a threat that it is trying to destroy," Kallas said on Tuesday (19 March) at a conference of the Friedrich August von Hayek Foundation. it would undoubtedly be easiest to agree with Prime Minister Kallas, however, Russia has not desired nor experienced liberal democracy herself. Liberalism as such is a largely individual-centred political theory that places the individual, as opposed to the collective, at the heart and soul of politics. Moreover, Putin regime turned the essentials of the liberal philosophy and praise for freedom upstream by launching "a controllable information society" strategy in October 2000 at the Bor Conference Centre some 100km South from Moscow. This strategy was later tested on home-soil for a decade after expanding it to Europe and overseas, with some pretty impressive results led by the Russian media houses and partially owned news agencies. One could argue that one of the main cornerstones of our defence on this multi-influencing is openess and transparency of our parliamentary system which means also allowance of non-mainstream opinions without pre-labeling them or declaring some freely elected political parties as extreme. #russia #estonia #informationsociety #germany