For those who read French.
Bavaria's new rule uses the cross to stoke divisions
A good CNN piece on populist nationalism in Germany.
Read it all.
But here is the first part.
It's easy to see when a politician is playing games, but it can be difficult to stop him -- even when he's violating the constitution and sowing divisions to win votes.
Most Germans reject the so-called "Kreuzpflicht," or crucifix mandate, but in Bavaria, where over 75% identify as Protestant or Roman Catholic, the new rule seems to be an attempt by the Christian Socialist Union, or CSU, to hold on to power in the October elections.
Populism today is all the rage, and the reason is easy to detect: It wins votes.
Bavaria is particularly vulnerable to the divisiveness of populism.
State Premier Markus Soder, of the rightist CSU, moved into the top job in Bavaria last March and within two weeks introduced the Kreuzpflicht in a transparent move to stem the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, the AfD, which runs on an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim platform.
The top religious authorities in Germany rejected the rule.
But Soder, who met with the Pope as the decree went into effect, has reason to be optimistic that his play will pay off.
It's easy to see when a politician is playing games, but it can be difficult to stop him -- even when he's violating the constitution and sowing divisions to win votes.
That's most transparent today in Germany, where the local government has ordered that every public building in the southern state of Bavaria hang a cross on a visible location near its entrance.
Most Germans reject the so-called "Kreuzpflicht," or crucifix mandate, but in Bavaria, where over 75% identify as Protestant or Roman Catholic, the new rule seems to be an attempt by the Christian Socialist Union, or CSU, to hold on to power in the October elections.
Populism today is all the rage, and the reason is easy to detect: It wins votes.
Bavaria is particularly vulnerable to the divisiveness of populism.
It is one of Germany's most conservative states, and it lies along a preferred route taken in recent years by more than a million migrants, many of them Muslim, who settled in Germany.
State Premier Markus Soder, of the rightist CSU, moved into the top job in Bavaria last March and within two weeks introduced the Kreuzpflicht in a transparent move to stem the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, the AfD, which runs on an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim platform.
The AfD has been eating into support for the CSU, which had its worst performance ever in last fall's election.
The rise of extremist parties erodes moderation even among centrists.
The rise of extremist parties erodes moderation even among centrists.
The right-of-center CSU, partner of Angela Merkel's CDU, is moving further to the right.
If that means violating the constitution's demand that the government remain neutral on religion, Soder has some wordplay to fight back.
The cross, he said, is not a religious symbol but a cultural one.
Christian leaders rolled their eyes.
The top religious authorities in Germany rejected the rule.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and president of the German Bishops' conference, said if Soder thinks the cross is not a religious symbol, then he doesn't understand it, accusing the premier of using it to foment, "division, unrest and animosity."
The head of Germany's Catholic organization, Thomas Sternberg, said the crucifix should not be used "for election purposes," and countless religious scholars and clerical leaders rejected the move as a patently political one.
But Soder, who met with the Pope as the decree went into effect, has reason to be optimistic that his play will pay off.
A national poll showed just 29% of Germans support his Kreuzpflicht.
But in Bavaria, approval has reached 56%. And among supporters of Soder's nemesis, the AfD, 77% liked the rule.
Oh, about AfD
12 years of Nazi dictatorship are a mere blot of bird droppings on a thousand years of successful and glorious German history, said a leader of Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland) at a recent party meeting.
Oh, about AfD
12 years of Nazi dictatorship are a mere blot of bird droppings on a thousand years of successful and glorious German history, said a leader of Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland) at a recent party meeting.
Not that he doesn't have a point.
Le co-dirigeant du parti allemand d'extrême droite AfD, Alexander Gauland, a estimé samedi qu'Adolf Hitler et les nazis n'avaient été qu'une "fiente d'oiseau" dans un millénaire allemand glorieux, selon des propos rapportés par la Deutsche Welle.
"Hitler et les nationaux-socialistes (le parti NSDAP du Führer, ndlr) ne sont qu'une fiente d'oiseau en 1.000 ans d'histoire allemande à succès", a affirmé le responsable politique qui est aussi le co-président du groupe parlementaire Alternative pour l'Allemagne (AfD).
"Oui nous reconnaissons notre responsabilité pour les 12 années" de la dictature nazie, a-t-il ajouté, également cité par l'agence dpa.
Le co-dirigeant du parti allemand d'extrême droite AfD, Alexander Gauland, a estimé samedi qu'Adolf Hitler et les nazis n'avaient été qu'une "fiente d'oiseau" dans un millénaire allemand glorieux, selon des propos rapportés par la Deutsche Welle.
"Hitler et les nationaux-socialistes (le parti NSDAP du Führer, ndlr) ne sont qu'une fiente d'oiseau en 1.000 ans d'histoire allemande à succès", a affirmé le responsable politique qui est aussi le co-président du groupe parlementaire Alternative pour l'Allemagne (AfD).
"Oui nous reconnaissons notre responsabilité pour les 12 années" de la dictature nazie, a-t-il ajouté, également cité par l'agence dpa.
"Nous avons une histoire glorieuse et celle-ci, chers amis, a duré plus longtemps que ces 12 fichues années", a-t-il jugé lors d'une réunion à Seebach, en Thuringe (est), de l'organisation des jeunes de l'AfD.
La secrétaire générale du parti conservateur CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, proche d'Angela Merkel, a promptement réagi sur Twitter: "50 millions de victimes de guerre, l'Holocauste et la guerre totale ne sont qu'une 'fiente d'oiseau' pour l'AfD et Gauland. Voilà ce qu'est ce parti derrière le masque civil".
. . . .
Première force d'opposition à la chambre des députés, l'AfD a fait une entrée fracassante au Bundestag, avec plus de 90 députés, et remis en cause le consensus mémoriel des Allemands sur leur passé nazi.
Née en 2013 d'une opposition à l'euro, le parti est devenu, à la faveur de la "crise" des réfugiés en 2015, un parti anti-migrants, anti-islam et anti-Merkel.
Il a notablement durci son discours, notamment contre les musulmans.
La secrétaire générale du parti conservateur CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, proche d'Angela Merkel, a promptement réagi sur Twitter: "50 millions de victimes de guerre, l'Holocauste et la guerre totale ne sont qu'une 'fiente d'oiseau' pour l'AfD et Gauland. Voilà ce qu'est ce parti derrière le masque civil".
. . . .
Première force d'opposition à la chambre des députés, l'AfD a fait une entrée fracassante au Bundestag, avec plus de 90 députés, et remis en cause le consensus mémoriel des Allemands sur leur passé nazi.
Née en 2013 d'une opposition à l'euro, le parti est devenu, à la faveur de la "crise" des réfugiés en 2015, un parti anti-migrants, anti-islam et anti-Merkel.
Il a notablement durci son discours, notamment contre les musulmans.
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