These pirates are the opposite of privateers. They are commoneers. On Thu, Sep 22, 2011 at 6:22 AM, Ray Harrell <[email protected]> wrote:
> There have always been privateers. They have captured both Wall Street > and > the GOP. > > REH > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of michael > gurstein > Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 4:02 AM > To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION'; > [email protected] > Subject: [Futurework] FW: [SPAM] The Jolly Roger Flies in the Berlin > Elections > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Portside Moderator [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 7:25 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [SPAM] The Jolly Roger Flies in the Berlin Elections > > > Berlin Bulletin No. 32 > September 19 2011 > > The Jolly Roger Flies in the Berlin Elections > > By Victor Grossman > > Berlin > > Berlin voted on Sunday. Mayor Klaus Wowereit, a Social > Democrat, retains his office but his government needs > reshuffling. The only real surprise was a hefty 9 per > cent vote for an unusual new party, the Pirates, whose > fifteen delegates in the new city parliament will be > their first anywhere in Germany. > > With Pirates in parliament (though not in power), will > anyone be walking the plank? The floundering big-biz > party, the Free Democrats (FDP), which still holds the > Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister spots in the > federal government as junior partners to Angela > Merkel's Christian Democrats, suffered its fifth defeat > in as many state elections this year. With under 2 > percent on Sunday, and no more deputy seats in Berlin's > parliament, it is now gasping for air. Last-minute > attempts to build on anti-Greek sentiment, opposing > financial support for that sagging euro-comrade, didn't > help it one bit. Most Berliners, if they thought about > the party at all, said "Good riddance!" > > But ach and alas, the Left party - die Linke - also > plunged into icier political waters. Its 11.5 percent, > lower even than its disappointing 13.4 in 2006, meant > that its 19 seats in the city-state parliament (down > from 23) could no longer give Mayor Wowereit the > required majority of 76 seats. After ten years of > joint, though junior rule, it will now be part of the > opposition. > > The Social Democrats lost almost as many percentage > points as the Left but were still strongest kids on the > block. Debonair, popular Wowereit - who joyfully > accepted the cheers of party members, standing next to > his life partner - must now choose between an uneasy > partnership with the Greens, with a majority of only > one seat, or with the Christian Democrats. The latter > would grant a numerically more stable majority but > would require more than a few steps to the right, not > his ideal. > > Earlier this year the Greens and their loud, energetic > leader Renate Kuenast hoped to win first place and the > mayor's job, but she proved too loud and too energetic > for Berliners. The result, 18 percent, was the best the > Greens had ever achieved in Berlin but far less than > they hoped for, while the Christians stayed ahead, > moving forward two points to hold on to second place. > > Who then are these new Pirates? They don't resemble > Long John Silver or Blackbeard in the least. Indeed, > some male candidates seem hardly old enough to have any > beard at all. For they are, above all, a party of and > for young voters. Until recently they were more a joke > than anything else. But - with 9 percent at their very > first try - who is still laughing? > > What do they stand for? That is not easy to determine. > They started out by demanding full freedom in Internet, > opposing any charges or regulation from above, and this > alone won support within the electronic generation. But > it wasn't enough for a party program. They added a > demand which is always attractive on the political > scene: Transparency. Everything should be above board. > They have since spoken, if a bit vaguely, of things > like dropping requirements for driving licenses, of > classes on drugs in the schools, and of a basic livable > income for everyone, whether or not he or she had a > job. Such demands resounded successfully in young ears, > with many who would not have voted at all otherwise and > many who would have voted for other parties. Thus, > Pirate cutlasses chopped off votes from what were > considered Establishment parties, the Social Democrats, > even the poor Left (whose share in the government made > them "establishment") but most of all from the Greens, > whose compromising positions on so many issues robbed > them of much earlier youthful, rebellious glamour. > Whether the 15 Pirate delegates, all political newbies, > will gain experience and make any political dents > remains to be seen; as yet the pundits are unsure about > pinning them down as leftish, centrist, or whatever. > They could become allies of the Left, with whom they > actually share many ideas. Now they represent largely a > protest vote. The next five years will tell whether > that means anything or is a flash in the pan. > > And the Left? Christian Democrats and Greens crowed > gleefully at its losses, which meant an end to ten > years of a so-called "Red-Red" government coalition in > Berlin. Why have they been dipping, unevenly but > clearly in both West Berlin (4.5 percent) and East > Berlin (22.6)? > > One reason is clear. An overwhelmingly hostile media > linked every failing in running Berlin, every painful > budget cut, to the Left. The three Left cabinet > ministers (called senators) were largely responsible > for key improvements in the school system, for getting > free kindergarten care, sharply reduced tickets for the > jobless in public transportation and for cultural and > sports events, for hindering the forced moving of the > jobless from their homes because of higher rents. They > had fought and sometimes won more jobs and higher pay > for city employees and prevented the privatization of > city banks. But all this was distorted, ignored, or > credited to Wowereit. > > In addition, all such efforts had confused their basic > position as a party of opposition to the ruling system, > of rebelliousness, street demonstrations and the > sometimes outrageous actions which shock some but win > the hearts of others, especially young people. Indeed, > the ranks of the Left, especially in East Berlin, were > still to a great degree the faithful from former GDR > years, before that state disappeared in 1990, and their > ranks were dwindling. Many young voters chose to follow > Jolly Roger flags somehow representing resistance. > > It was clear to all in the Left party that attention to > young people's problems and culture had been woefully > neglected. Some also noticed a similar weakness in > regard to immigrant groups, now increasingly with > voting rights, especially Berlin's large Turkish > population. > > There were other reasons. The Left had been torn by > inner quarrels between its two wings. A fleeting use of > the word "Communism" as a distant goal by co- > chairperson Gesine Loetzsch in January was pounced on > by the media, also a greeting to Fidel Castro on his > 85th birthday and a decision by three local leaders of > the Left in northern Schwerin to abstain from publicly > regretting the building of the Berlin Wall fifty years > earlier. All this (and more) was grist for unfriendly > mills, from left center to far right. > > The question demanding urgent answers was whether the > Left was too radical, as its "reformer" wing implied, > thus barring itself from the main, acceptable political > ring, or was it on the contrary not militant enough, as > the other, more "leftist" wing maintained. But after > seeing the disappointing vote Gregor Gysi, party guru > and chair of its Bundestag caucus, said: "We have been > spending ninety percent of our time with inner disputes > and ten percent with national problems. This must be > turned around completely!" After key planks of the > national program were poached by the other parties, > basic demands needed to be found and fought for. The > Left's national conference on its basic program next > month in Erfurt could lead to just that - or to worse > wrangling than ever. It will almost certainly feature > crucial decisions. > > A postscript: While a "Red-Red" coalition of Social > Democrats and the Left in the state of Brandenburg > around Berlin continues in office relatively > successfully, the newly re-elected Social Democratic > governor in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania north of Berlin > (it's called "Meck-Pom") must now decide between a > coalition with the Christian Democrats, as currently > exists, or a reversal to one with the Left, which is > also possible. The Berlin vote could impel him to > choose the former solution. > > A second postscript: The neo-Nazi National Democratic > Party (NPD) and a new "pro-Deutschland" party based on > hatred of Muslims posted election placards all around > Berlin caricaturing Africans and Muslims in a > frighteningly racist way. One poster showed the NPD > leader grinning on a motorcycle under the slogan: "Give > gas!" - a hardly ambiguous appeal for genocide. > Attempts to ban it were turned down in court. Neither > party got enough votes to enter the city parliament. > How many seats they won in borough councils is not yet > known. > > ++++ > > Results: > > Social Democrats (SPD) 28.3 % 47 seats > comp/w 06: - 2.5 > > Christian Democrats (CDU) 23.4 39 > + 2.1 > > Greens 17.6 29 > > + 4.5 > > Left 11.7 19 > > - 1.7 > > Pirates 8.9 15 > > > Free Democrats (FDP) 1.8 0 > > - 5.8 > > ___________________________________________ > > Portside aims to provide material of interest to people > on the left that will help them to interpret the world > and to change it. > > Submit via email: [email protected] > > Submit via the Web: http://portside.org/submittous3 > > Frequently asked questions: http://portside.org/faq > > Sub/Unsub: http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe > > Search Portside archives: http://portside.org/archive > > Contribute to Portside: https://portside.org/donate > > > !DSPAM:2676,4e7a9e21217011280213334! > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > -- Sandwichman
_______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
