Germany: Reform Anger Could Turn Violent

[Dirk39]

"A series of violent incidents related to anger at the German government's welfare reforms have some worried that widespread discontent among the populace could lead a surge in aggressive and illegal behavior.


During a recent trip by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to the eastern town of Wittenberge, his bodyguards had to suddenly scramble to protect the German leader from eggs thrown at him by demonstrators protesting his welfare reforms. "We want jobs," angry protestors yelled as the projectiles flew.


At a job center in Berlin this week, an enraged man who felt benefits were being unfairly withheld from him, attacked a secretary with a knife, wounding her in the arm before colleagues could restrain him.


While these and other similar events might be individual, even exceptional incidents, some experts say they are consequences of a population on the edge, upset at what is seen by many as the abandonment of long-held principles of social fairness and frightened of a possible future in poverty.

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_1309566_1_A,00.html

The source, I quote, is a very questionable one. The chief of "Deutsche Welle" is a member of the neoliberal right-wing think-tank Mont Pèlerin Society. Being the most important source for news about Germany in english worldwide: they mix the news with their neoliberal right-wing aganda, if they cannot suppress it any longer.

But apart from this: are the protests in Germany against the destruction of the welfare state and what's left of our democracy after 6-years of Schröder covered in any way in the U.S. media?

The former communists, PDS, gain more votes in nearly every election in the former communist parts of Germany than Schröder and his gang. The Socialdemocrats, who have sold out to neoliberal capitalism, are at an all time low. Some polls seem to show that the SPD, who still builds our government along with the Greens (the german Greens are as corrupt as the SPD and are in no way comparable to the U.S. Greens) to even fall under the 10% mark during elections coming next month in parts of East-Germany.
I guess under every other condition, someone like Schröder would have resigned for long. Maybe even Bush would go, if the Republicans would get results as Schröder does (At least they would manipulate the results:-))

Is this covered in any way by the U.S. mainstream media?

I just started laughing, when this evening during one of our two mayor TV-News-Shows in Germany, a citizen of New York was quoted about the protests in New York against the RNC: "There are two parties in the USA, who represent corporate interests, but noone, who represents us."

This is fucking little stupid Germany at it's best: I still wait for a german, being quoted telling the truth about our 1-Party-system....

Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[Cleita]

1. Nothing on our main news outlets, but we get a CNN international

feed on weekends on the financial channel and they had a ten minute discussion of it. But they didn't make it sound violent. What they said was that in order to fund your health care everyone was going to have to contribute to it. I guess before you could buy private insurance, but now those who buy private health insurance will also now have to contribute to the national health care program as well. Apparently, people are upset about this. Is this what it was about?

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. I haven't got a clue what is going on over there. :^( Had no

idea about any of this.

[Rabelais]

3. be sure to wear a suit and tie to the protests

Oops, I guess Germans aren't cowards like Americans who have lost millions of jobs and healthcare but are too afraid of what republicans might think of us to actually rock the boat.

I need to move there where the people don't fuck around when the government fucks them.

[Dirk39]

4. O.K....

O.K.: I hope you're right: But so far I'm pretty impressed by the protests going on in New York. Esp. the kind of ideas they have. Only the French people can compete with this. The Germans are at least angry, but the majority is simply boring. Throwing eggs? Knives? Stones?
Vomiting againt Bush, as it is happening in New York right now isn't bad either?
What's happening in New York right now reminds me so much of the New York I loved and used to know during the late eighties!
Thanx for your reply anyway,
Dirk

[Jim Sagle]

5. Welfare reform sucks in every nation, I suspect.

[Dirk39]

6. Pssst: Don't tell anyone.

Better stay calm. It's the world's most valuable secret: It happens everywhere, not just in your country.
Every other country offers cheaper labour, less salary, less welfare and less healthcare.
There is no Alternative. We simply have to destroy democracy or what's left of it (in order to safe it).

We simply have to blackmail the poor with the poor around the corner.
Capitalism has become dialectic and at least the philosophy behind, is entertaining.
The slogan means: "Finally, we don't have to work anymore!"



(picture from the "Monday-Protests" on August 23, 2004, in Germany)
That these protests are called "Monday-Protests" is very annoying and provocative for at least the German governement and the mainstream media. The protests, leading to the downfall of the Berlin Wall and the end of stalinist-communism in East-Germany were called "Monday-Protests" too and have become famous under that label.

Now, I just wish, the same will be true for the end of the neoliberal ultraviolent capitalism, we face today, too.
I don't like mondays,
Dirk