Not My President.
Feb. 20th, 2012 04:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
The office of German Bundespräsident (President) is not half as powerful as that of the American, French or Russian President. It's mostly a ceremonial office and laws have to be signed by the President to become valid. I have only ever heard of exactly one President who refused to sign a law until it was changed (Horst Köhler, if I remember it correctly. Input, anyone?) so that's mostly ceremonial, too.
The German President, though, has a big moral and ethical significance. President speeches here are usually regarded and discussed widely, since the President is supposed to be one President for all (if s/he's member of a political party, they have to "deactivate" their party membership for the duration of their stay in office). A very important speech made by Christian Wulff, the President that recently had to resign over a credit affair, was the one when he said that "Islam is a part of a Germany", which, IMO, is one of the most important phrases uttered by a German politician in the last 10 or maybe even 20 years.
However, as mentioned before, Wullf had to resign last week and we have to go looking for a new President. There's been some speculation on who was going to be next one and on Sunday, the four (currenty, hrrhrr) biggest political parties CDU/CSU, FDP, SPD and the Greens decided on Joachim Gauck as their candidate. Every time one of them talks about him, they describe him as a joint candidate and one of consense between all political parties. They conviniently forget to mention the fact that a political party that represents 5 million voters in Germany wasn't even invited to the talks, the LINKE. Strike one on the unacceptability side.
Gauck was the SPD/Greens candidate in 2010 when a new President had to be elected after Horst Köhler resigned, whereas Christian Wulff was the CDU/CSU/FDP candidate (Luc Jochimsen was the LINKE candidate, BTW). Wulff narrowly beat Gauck in the election(and everyone was beating up the LINKE because they exercised their democratic right to vote for the candidate they deemed best. Let's not dwell on that now, shall we?) and people were hoping that would be the end of it. It wasn't, though, and now we're getting new elections (not by the people but representatives, BTW. The German President election is nearly as complicated as the US election...). Yay.
The thing is: Joachim Gauck is a sanctimonious asshole who thought Thilo Sarrazin was "brave" with his scatterbrained theories about Germans and Muslims living in Germany, called Occupy and capitalism critisicm "silly", doesn't think telecommunications data retention is the beginning of a Big Brother state a la 1984, doesn't acknowledge the Oder-Neiße line between Germany and Poland (which basically means that he doesn't accept the sovereignity of the state of Poland) and claims he was persecuted by East German authorities before the Wall came down when he basically arranged himself with the system.
How is it, for example, that his two sons could move freely to West Germany and he could freely visit them whenever he wanted to despite living in East Germany? My parents were SED members. And they never even saw their West German relations before the Wall came down. Because they were not allowed to go, not even as party members. Someone like Gauck, who claims he was persecuted and actually lived quite well in East Germany, is an affront to everyone who was persecuted. Apparently, he also spent over an hour alone in the Stasi archives in Rostock before everyone else could and it's still not clear what exactly he did in there and if there were any deliberate changes made to his Stasi records by him. Quite honestly, that makes all his statements regarding his persecution quite doubtable.
Honestly, this guy is Not My President. He's a stupid vain old coot, a sanctimonious asshole who preaches water and drinks wine, a parson who'll preach and lecture us for five years, encompassed in the halo of the myth of a civil rights activist. I'm considering emmigration. Maybe to Canada with
apinkpanthress. Or Bavaria (
0_noctifer_0's idea). I really don't want to have to bear his unctuous jibberish.
If anyone of you who read German would like to have some further info, here are some link collections:
indymedia
piratenpad
And I really like this taz article:
Besser: Ein Stinkstiefel namens Gauck
The German President, though, has a big moral and ethical significance. President speeches here are usually regarded and discussed widely, since the President is supposed to be one President for all (if s/he's member of a political party, they have to "deactivate" their party membership for the duration of their stay in office). A very important speech made by Christian Wulff, the President that recently had to resign over a credit affair, was the one when he said that "Islam is a part of a Germany", which, IMO, is one of the most important phrases uttered by a German politician in the last 10 or maybe even 20 years.
However, as mentioned before, Wullf had to resign last week and we have to go looking for a new President. There's been some speculation on who was going to be next one and on Sunday, the four (currenty, hrrhrr) biggest political parties CDU/CSU, FDP, SPD and the Greens decided on Joachim Gauck as their candidate. Every time one of them talks about him, they describe him as a joint candidate and one of consense between all political parties. They conviniently forget to mention the fact that a political party that represents 5 million voters in Germany wasn't even invited to the talks, the LINKE. Strike one on the unacceptability side.
Gauck was the SPD/Greens candidate in 2010 when a new President had to be elected after Horst Köhler resigned, whereas Christian Wulff was the CDU/CSU/FDP candidate (Luc Jochimsen was the LINKE candidate, BTW). Wulff narrowly beat Gauck in the election
The thing is: Joachim Gauck is a sanctimonious asshole who thought Thilo Sarrazin was "brave" with his scatterbrained theories about Germans and Muslims living in Germany, called Occupy and capitalism critisicm "silly", doesn't think telecommunications data retention is the beginning of a Big Brother state a la 1984, doesn't acknowledge the Oder-Neiße line between Germany and Poland (which basically means that he doesn't accept the sovereignity of the state of Poland) and claims he was persecuted by East German authorities before the Wall came down when he basically arranged himself with the system.
How is it, for example, that his two sons could move freely to West Germany and he could freely visit them whenever he wanted to despite living in East Germany? My parents were SED members. And they never even saw their West German relations before the Wall came down. Because they were not allowed to go, not even as party members. Someone like Gauck, who claims he was persecuted and actually lived quite well in East Germany, is an affront to everyone who was persecuted. Apparently, he also spent over an hour alone in the Stasi archives in Rostock before everyone else could and it's still not clear what exactly he did in there and if there were any deliberate changes made to his Stasi records by him. Quite honestly, that makes all his statements regarding his persecution quite doubtable.
Honestly, this guy is Not My President. He's a stupid vain old coot, a sanctimonious asshole who preaches water and drinks wine, a parson who'll preach and lecture us for five years, encompassed in the halo of the myth of a civil rights activist. I'm considering emmigration. Maybe to Canada with
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If anyone of you who read German would like to have some further info, here are some link collections:
indymedia
piratenpad
And I really like this taz article:
Besser: Ein Stinkstiefel namens Gauck
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 04:24 pm (UTC)Zu Gauck selbst will ich mich zurückhalten, da man nie weiß, wie er als Präsident eigentlich wird. Ich weiß nicht mehr, wer es war, aber von einem hatte ich gelesen, dass er vor der Wahl auch sehr umstritten war und dann als Präsident recht ordentlich war. Ich lass mich also überraschen.
Was seine Stasi-Vergangenheit angeht... es gibt die, die sagen er hat mit der Stasi zusammengearbeitet und es gibt die, die das Gegenteil behaupten. Dass er Stundenlang mit seiner Akte alleine war, hab ich auch gelesen. Fakt is, man kann nichts mehr nachvollziehen und es steht Aussage gegen Aussage. Für mich persönlich is jetzt wichtig, wie er sich im Amt macht. So 'ne Blamage wie Wulff KANN er gar nicht werden.
(und auswander steht bei mir sowieso auf'm Zettel, irgendwann mal nach dem Fernstudium :D)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 04:36 pm (UTC)Danke!
Fakt is, man kann nichts mehr nachvollziehen und es steht Aussage gegen Aussage.
Was es nicht täte, wenn er auf seine Akteneinsicht gewartet hätte, wie alle anderen (unter anderem mein Vater, der gar nicht wusste, dass er eine Akte hatte und einfach mal um einen Kumpel zu ärgern, der dachte, er hätte eine, angefragt hat. Es war vermutlich ein Kollege, der meinen Vater
sehr unzulänglichbespitzelt hat) auch. So fragt man sich doch, warum genau er da alleine und vor allen anderen da jetzt unbedingt reinmusste...So 'ne Blamage wie Wulff KANN er gar nicht werden.
Das hamse vermutlich nach Lübke auch alle gedacht, und dann kam Wulff ;) (wobei der Lübke das angeblich alles gar nicht gesagt haben soll...)
Nachtrag zu den Links:
Das hier (http://www.blaetter.de/archiv/jahrgaenge/2010/juli/yes-we-gauck) ist zwar schon von 2010, aber richtig gruselig (vor allem, wenn man genau hinliest)... Gauck, der Leichenberge mit Aktenbergen gleichsetzt. Ich möchte da nur weinen.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 05:02 pm (UTC)Ich war vor 'ner ganzen Weile schonmal da gucken und hatte das noch in Erinnerung, dass da noch mehr waren.
Was es nicht täte, wenn er auf seine Akteneinsicht gewartet hätte, wie alle anderen [...] auch.
Meine Muddi würd jetzt sagen: Hätt der Hund nich geschissen, hätt er'n Hasen gehabt. ;-)
Nein, ich weiß ja was du meinst. Aber man kann's eben auch nicht mehr ändern. Vllt. hat er aus seiner Akte was verschwinden lassen, vllt. wollte er nur als allererstes seine Akte ganz genau studieren... wer weiß, wer weiß.
(ich lebe nach dem Serenity-Prayer, deswegen regt mich sowas nicht mehr auf...)
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, liebe Neger... :-P soll er tatsächlich nicht gesagt haben. Er hat sich zwar schon einiges geleistet, aber sein Englisch soll nicht wirklich so schlecht gewesen sein. Die Spiegel-Mitarbeiter haben sich da auch viel selbst ausgedacht (lt. einem früheren Spiegel-Mitarbeiter).
Aber ja. und dann kam Wulff... Ich möchte ihn bitte vergessen. Ganz schnell.
Ich musste grad erstmal das Wort "goutieren" googlen. Der Artikel mag interessant sein, aber das Gespräch von dem es handelt, is aus 1991. Ob der heute wirklich noch genauso reden/denken würde?
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 05:42 pm (UTC)Da hatse auch wieder Recht...
(ich lebe nach dem Serenity-Prayer, deswegen regt mich sowas nicht mehr auf...)
Ich hab das mal versucht, aber das kann ich eh nicht (jedenfalls nicht bei Politik). Also lasse ich es lieber alles raus ;)
Die Spiegel-Mitarbeiter haben sich da auch viel selbst ausgedacht
Den Artikel hab ich auch gelesen :D
Ob der heute wirklich noch genauso reden/denken würde?
Ich will stark hoffen, dass er das nicht mehr tut, schien aber 2010 noch nicht der Fall gewesen zu sein (http://www.publikative.org/2010/06/21/zuroff-gauck-kritik-200/) (von der Sarrazin-Sache gar nicht zu reden...). Ich gehe aber davon aus, dass wir so was in den nächsten fünf Jahren nicht mehr zu sehen bekommen werden, dafür ist der IMHO zu schlau. Mit Maschmesyer sollte er sich auch nicht mehr fotografieren lassen, wenn er schlau ist... (http://i.imgur.com/dPqsu.jpg) (wobei, könnte auch gephotoshopt sein, das Bild, man weiß es nicht...)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 06:34 pm (UTC)Gott schuf die Menschen und ließ sie wachsen, dann kam der Teufel und schuf die Sachsen.Okay, dann hier was aufmunterndes. <3 <3 <3 I'm seriously in love with this *draws hearts*
Vllt. wollte er sich auch eher mit der Ferres fotografieren lassen und der Maschmeyer musste sich auf's Bild drängen? ;-) Sollte er mal schnellst lassen. Das mit'm Maschmeyer hab ich bei Tagesschau auch schon gelesen. Aber wie du sagtest, Gauck ist intelligent und wird sich hoffentlich vorsehen, so 'nen Quatsch wie Wulff zu machen. Und wenn, dann wird seine Freundin ihn da hoffentlich ein bisschen in die Spur bringen. Die ist/war schließlich Journalistin und weiß, was abgeht. Und sie hat Ahnung von Politik. Sollte doch wat ordentliches bei rauskommen.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 07:11 pm (UTC)*lock*
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:02 pm (UTC)Sagtest du was?
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:08 pm (UTC)Nicht so wichtig... ist ... alles ... nicht ... wichtig ...
*starr*
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:10 pm (UTC)ich könnt das STUN-DEN-LANG machen.
*starr
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:13 pm (UTC)Was? *irritiert guck*
*auf gif aufmerksam werd*
...
...
Was? *irritiert guck*
*auf gif aufmerksam werd*
...
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:17 pm (UTC)Irgendwie macht das Tier mir Angst. Es beobachtet mich. *paranoidno subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:18 pm (UTC)Es hat dich auch gerade auf Facebook geaddet ò____Ó
...
*auf gif aufmerksam werd*
*anstarr*
Muss. Noch. Machen. Küche. Sauber. Gnäääh. *gif anstarr*
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:27 pm (UTC)Zehn Sekunde Pause.
Dann: "Na gut, jetzt macht es mir doch Angst..."
Es wird die Weltherrschaft an sich reißen, oder?
(passend zum heutigen Abend der Musketier-Film ausm Kino letztes Jahr bei uns DVD-Player jetzt. Es fängt an mit Athos als Unterwasser-Ninja. Der Film kann nur gut sein.)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:29 pm (UTC)a pretty fucking ninjaEs wird die Weltherrschaft an sich reißen ... und noch schlimmer: Auch das Souvenier. *bedächtig nick*
Wir haben voll verloren :(
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 09:31 pm (UTC)Wie üblich habe ich eigentlich überhaupt keinen Plan von Politik :P
Aber wenn du zu Noctifer auswanders, komme ich dich ab und an besuchen
RRRRrrrrrrrrrr (oder du kommst bei mir vorbei, ab übermorgen ist hier im Westen auch wieder alles ruhig)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 10:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-20 10:28 pm (UTC)...
*wieder anstarr*
...