DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Germany's far-right AfD party is finding success on TikTok — as its popularity among young voters grows
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Cardboard stands with the AfD logo lie on the chairs in the Wiesenhalle before the start of the AfD Brandenburg state party conference. Traditionally, young voters are seen as more left-leaning, but the voting data suggests some divergences, with experts pointing to social media and what they describe as online echo chambers. A study published earlier this month showed that over half of those aged 14-29 in Germany use social media to stay updated about news and politics. But Berendsen told CNBC that it is one of the social media platforms where the tunnel-effect can be an issue. An AfD spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that its videos and texts posted on social media are tailored to young people.

Persons: Monika Skolimowska, Infratest Dimap, Eva Berendsen, Anne Frank, Baerbock, Maximilian Krah, TikTok, Berendsen Organizations: Getty, Russia, Anne, CNBC Locations: Hesse, Germany

A constitutional court ruling on Nov. 15 against a budget manoeuvre to get around Germany's "debt brake" threw the financial plans of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition into disarray. "As I have long been saying, we must fear that the debt brake becomes ever more a brake on the future," said Berlin mayor Kai Wegner on social media platform X. "The debt brake was implemented when Europe had a debt sustainability issue and Germany wanted to lead by example," he said. "With the debt brake as it is, we have voluntarily tied our hands behind our backs and are going into a boxing match," he said. The Greens' campaign programme ahead of the last election included debt brake reform to allow for greater investments.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Robert Habeck, Christian Lindner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Reiner Haseloff, Haseloff, Kai Wegner, Friedrich Merz, Carsten Brzeski, Roderich Kiesewetter, Stefan Marschall, Andreas Rinke, Sarah Marsh, Matthias Williams, Holger Hansen, Nick Macfie Organizations: Climate, Finance, BERLIN, U.S, Intel, Reuters, AAA, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, Christian Social Union, CSU, Berlin, Free Democrats, Social Democrats, Greens, ING, SPD, University of Duesseldorf, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Europe's, Ukraine, Saxony, Anhalt, United States, Bavarian, Federal, Germany, Europe, France, Italy, Spain, China

☆ Hesse, Bavaria votes highlight discontent with Scholz's government, exit polls show
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Hesse State Premier Boris Rhein of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party gestures after the first exit polls for the Hesse state elections were published, in Wiesbaden, Germany, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Germany's opposition conservatives were on track to win state elections in Hesse and Bavaria on Sunday, according to exit polls by state broadcaster ARD, highlighting discontent with the Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left federal government. In Hesse, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) looked set to take 35.5% of the vote compared to 16% for Scholz's Social Democrats, dealing a personal blow to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser who ran as the SPD's lead candidate in the state. The SPD, which is traditionally weak in Bavaria, trailed with 8.5% of the vote. Meanwhile the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) made gains, rising to 16% in Hesse and 15% in Bavaria compared to 13.1% and 11.6% respectively in 2018.

Persons: Hesse State Premier Boris Rhein, Kai Pfaffenbach, Olaf Scholz's, Nancy Faeser, CDU's, Sarah Marsh, Thomas Escritt Organizations: Hesse State Premier, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, REUTERS, Rights, ARD, Christian Democrats, Scholz's Social Democrats, Christian Social Union, CSU, Free Voters, SPD, Greens, Free Democrats, Thomson Locations: Hesse, Wiesbaden, Germany, Bavaria

The FDP looked on track to fail to reach the 5% threshold to enter parliament in Bavaria, and possibly Hesse too. They and the AfD were the only parties to make gains in the Bavaria election. Still, coalition parties were likely to continue to follow increasingly separate paths to focus on issues relevant to their core electorate in response to the bad results, he said, while all taking a tougher stance on migration. "We must in the future better communicate SPD projects and be more visible," SPD lawmaker Sebastian Roloff told German outlet Handelsblatt. Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Nick Macfie, Ros Russell and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Scholz, Thomas Kemmerich, Jens Spahn, Spahn, Nancy Faeser, Markus Soeder, Philipp Koeker, Sebastian Roloff, Sarah Marsh, Nick Macfie, Ros Russell, Mark Porter Organizations: Social Democrats, Greens, Free Democrats, Christian Democrats, CDU, ARD, Christian Social Union, CSU, DRUBBING, Free Voters, University of Hanover, Thomson Locations: Hesse, Bavaria, BERLIN, Germany, Ukraine, Frankfurt

☆ Hesse, Bavaria Votes Highlight Discontent With Scholz's Government Exit Polls
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's opposition conservatives were on track to win state elections in Hesse and Bavaria on Sunday, according to exit polls by state broadcaster ARD, highlighting discontent with the Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left federal government. In Hesse, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) looked set to take 35.5% of the vote compared to 16% for Scholz's Social Democrats, dealing a personal blow to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser who ran as the SPD's lead candidate in the state. In Bavaria, CDU's sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) looked set to take 37% of the vote - its worst result since 1950 albeit likely enough to continue its coalition with the populist Free Voters on 14%. The SPD, which is traditionally weak in Bavaria, trailed with 8.5% of the vote. Meanwhile the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) made gains, rising to 16% in Hesse and 15% in Bavaria compared to 13.1% and 11.6% respectively in 2018.

Persons: Olaf Scholz's, Nancy Faeser, CDU's, Sarah Marsh, Thomas Escritt Organizations: BERLIN, ARD, Christian Democrats, CDU, Scholz's Social Democrats, Christian Social Union, CSU, Free Voters, SPD, Greens, Free Democrats Locations: Hesse, Bavaria, Germany

Both states are led by the country's main opposition Union bloc, made up of the Christian Democratic Union and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union. In Hesse, they give the CDU a double-digit lead in a three-way contest for the governor's office among the conservative party, Scholz's center-left Social Democrats and the environmentalist Greens. Scholz’s government also faces intense pressure to reduce the number of migrants arriving, a major issue in the run-up to the elections. Green challenger Tarek Al-Wazir, currently the deputy governor to conservative incumbent Boris Rhein, also faces an uphill struggle. Soeder is widely considered a potential candidate to challenge Scholz in 2025, although he has denied such ambitions.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Scholz, won’t, —, Karl, Rudolf Korte, Nancy Faeser, Tarek Al, Wazir, Boris Rhein, Markus Soeder, Soeder, Hubert Aiwanger, Aiwanger — Organizations: BERLIN, Sunday, Union, Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, CSU, CDU, Social Democrats, environmentalist Greens, Germany, Greens, Free, Welt, Sonntag, ” Voters, Free Democrats, Free Voters Locations: Bavaria, Hesse, Frankfurt, Scholz's

☆ Two German state elections expected to bring wins for conservative national opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Both states are led by the country's main opposition Union bloc, made up of the Christian Democratic Union and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union. In Hesse, they give the CDU a double-digit lead in a three-way contest for the governor's office among the conservative party, Scholz's center-left Social Democrats and the environmentalist Greens. Scholz's government also faces intense pressure to reduce the number of migrants arriving, a major issue in the run-up to the elections. Green challenger Tarek Al-Wazir, currently the deputy governor to conservative incumbent Boris Rhein, also faces an uphill struggle. In Bavaria, governor Markus Soeder is calling for voters to back "continuity and stability."

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Scholz, —, Karl, Rudolf Korte, Nancy Faeser, Tarek Al, Wazir, Boris Rhein, Markus Soeder, Soeder, Hubert Aiwanger, Aiwanger — Organizations: Sunday, Union, Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, CSU, CDU, Social Democrats, environmentalist Greens, Germany, Greens, Free, Welt, Sonntag, Voters, Free Democrats, Free Voters Locations: Bavaria, Hesse, Frankfurt, Scholz's

[1/3] German parliamentary group co-leaders of Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla attend a plenary session of the lower house of parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany May 25, 2023. In France, the far-right has become a stronger rival at the ballot box, while in Italy and Sweden, they are now are in government. Germany's domestic spy agency has branded the AfD's youth wing "extremist", saying it propagated "a racial concept of society". Some AfD initiatives have won backing from mainstream voters on the more local level. Wolfgang Buechner, a Scholz government spokesman, said he was confident the coalition could whittle away at AfD support.

Persons: Alice Weidel, Tino Chrupalla, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Stefan Marschall, Michael Kretschmer, Friederich Merz, Nancy Faeser, Marc Debus, Matthias Grahl, Wolfgang Buechner, Scholz, whittle, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Madeline Chambers, Edmund Blair Organizations: Bundestag, REUTERS, Government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social, University of Duesseldorf, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, Greens, Scholz's, Mannheim University, Thomson Locations: Germany, Berlin, BERLIN, Scholz's, Europe, France, Italy, Sweden, Nazi, Russia, Ukraine, Germany's, Saxony, Thueringen, Brandenburg, Bautzen

☆ Berlin chooses change in rerun election with clear lead for conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Riham Alkousaa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] Berlin?s frontrunner for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Kai Wegner, for the rerun of state elections reacts at the regional state parliament in Berlin, Germany, February 12, 2023. The Social Democrats, who have governed the German capital in a coalition with the environmentalist Greens and hard-left Die Linke, scored 18.2%. "Berlin chose change", CDU top candidate Kai Wegner said of the results, adding that there was a clear mandate for his party to form a state government. Berlin's left-wing mayor Franziska Giffey acknowledged the election defeat but said the CDU would still need a stable majority to govern in the city. Talk of a possible two-way coalition with the CDU was received with booing at the Greens election party on Sunday.

☆ German upper house blocks landmark welfare reform
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] German Labour and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil speaks at an extraordinary session, as Members of German upper House of Parliament or Bundesrat vote on Buergergeld or "citizens' money" welfare reform law, in the plenary hall, in Berlin, Germany November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Michele TantussiBERLIN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Germany's conservative opposition held up a major welfare reform on Monday, setting the scene for a mediation process to find a compromise that could still allow the introduction of ambitious measures to support the unemployed in gaining vocational skills. The welfare reform would introduce Buergergeld, or "citizens' money", to replace the Hartz IV system brought in from 2005, which sanctions people who reject job offers. "Our welfare state can only function if there are duties as well as rights," Baden-Wuerttemberg labour minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut of the opposition conservative CDU party said. German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said the ruling coalition -- of his Social Democrat (SPD) party with the Greens and the liberal FDP -- would call on a mediation committee later on Monday.

Search resuls for: "CDU's"

10 mentions found