#234: Deepfake Scholz, Tempelhof referendum, scooter flop, Deutschland tix for students

Two shopping Sundays this December.

Not just Christmas markets, but also regular shops can open on Sunday December 3 and 17 this year. Photo: Rolf Dietrich Breche, Creative Commons

Dear 20 Percent,

Strange days in German politics: Scholz’s traffic-light coalition is in critical condition thanks to what was essentially an accounting error. It feels like the country is deeply polarised over the Ukraine War, the Israel-Hamas war, and the government’s faltering climate and economic policies — and one party seems to be profiting from the mess: the far-right, anti-immigrant AfD. They’re polling at 22%, in second place after the opposition CDU/CSU and ahead of Scholz’s SPD.

Against this backdrop, a strange video surfaced Monday: In an unusually emotional speech, Schloz speaks out for banning the AfD. We see a montage of the party’s politicians making xenophobic, nationalistic, border-line Nazi statements — followed by shots of Hitler, World War II, Nazi death camps. Turn on autotranslate if you don’t speak German.

“Once again today, there are political forces who want to return to this abyss,” says Scholz — and promises he will go to Germany’s highest court and request a ban of the AfD. The video links to https://afd-verbot.de, an official-looking site asking citizens to submit evidence and tips incriminating the AfD. The site even asks for donations.

Left-wing politicians and activists have wanted to ban the AfD for ages — and must have been happy to see Scholz stepping up for their cause. The only problem: The video’s a deepfake, put out by the Zentrum für Politische Schönheit, an artist collective known for its controversial stunts, like when they built a mini replica of the Berlin Holocaust Memorial next door to AfD man Björn Höcke.

This deepfake is another shot fired in the direction of the AfD. Unfortunately, accusing the AfD of being Nazis and presenting the evidence doesn’t seem to change voters minds. It can actually backfire. The party says: oh look they’re accusing us of being Nazis again. Is that all they’ve got?

Parts of the AfD are already under state surveillance. But would a ban really squash these frightening tendencies in German society or just push them underground only to emerge in a more violent form later? I really don’t know. What do you think, dear readers?

More news below.

Maurice

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Deutschlandticket for students

Students in higher education can look forward to a cheaper version of the Deutschlandticket (€49) by next summer, following negotiations between national and state governments. The student ticket will also cover city and regional transport Germany-wide but cost just €29.40 per month, according to RBB. Since the Deutschlandticket was introduced, various parties (universities, transport companies, governments) have been arguing about a student version of the ticket. Currently, three local universities (Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, TU and Akademie der Künste) don’t offer a regional transport ticket (aka, a Semesterticket) because of the dispute.

New Tempelhof referendum?

The conservative CDU party, which runs this place alongside the middle-left SPD, wants to re-ask Berliners for permission to build on the edges of the former Tempelhof airport, according to RBB. The party would launch a public referendum, like the one in 2014 that resoundingly rejected the idea. The situation has changed since 2014, the CDU’s Dirk Stettner said following a CDU party meeting in Warsaw. Politicians have already launched a competition to see what that construction could look like. There’s one catch: The CDU is unsure if it — the government — can launch public referendums. Stettner said if it’s unable, it would somehow otherwise gauge public interest.

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Trailer village evicted?

To this day, Berlin is home to a handful of Wagendörfer (“wagon villages”). The oldest such community in the city has occupied the former Jacobi Cemetery in Neukölln and now have had their lease terminated, according to Tagesspiegel (paywall). The trailer-dwellers at Oderstraße 5, known as the Rollheimer, moved in 28 years ago after they were kicked off of Potsdamer Platz to make way for construction. Now the authority running the cemetery has plans for the land, though it’s unclear whether it’s been earmarked for new housing or something else. Seventy-something resident Wolfgang Niedrich isn’t fazed: “I lived at Potsdamer Platz for almost eight years after getting notice. At some point, you just don't believe it anymore.”

Oh no, Unu

Berlin electric scooter company Unu has filed for insolvency, the company announced on Friday. Reasons cited were: “Increased material and transportation costs, higher operational costs and a sharp drop in demand due to inflation.” The business will continue to operate during insolvency proceedings. The company was also battered by production halts during the pandemic and chip shortages. Unu was founded in 2013. The scooters were sold to consumers online then custom-assembled in China. The Berlin office employs about 50.

Pharmacy protest

This Wednesday, most pharmacies in Berlin will remain closed. The owners are protesting rising costs, rising workloads due to supply bottlenecks and the fact that the fees they get from the Krankenkassen for prescription medication have not increased for years. If you need a pharmacy Wednesday, search here or here.

Factoid

On 25 November 1963, three days after the assassination of JFK in Dallas, Rudolph-Wilde-Platz in Schöneberg was renamed John-F.-Kennedy-Platz. Just a few months earlier, on June 26, 1963, this had been the site where the US president declared “Ich bin ein Berliner” from the steps of the Schöneberg city hall, which served as West Berlin’s city hall at the time.

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