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GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA Merkel’s party suffered a bruising loss in Berlin state elections today while the right-wing populist AfD again gained support, capitalising on anger over her open-door refugee policy.
The anti-Islam Alternative for Germany party won around 12%, according to broadcasters’ exit polls in the capital, which prides itself on being a hip, multicultural city – gaining seats in the tenth of Germany’s 16 states a year ahead of national elections.
Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union won just 18% – its worst post-war result in the city, before or after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall – according to the exit polls, likely spelling the end of its term as junior coalition partner to the Social Democrats, who won 23%.
The election in the chronically indebted city-state of 3.5 million people was dominated by many local issues including poor public services, crumbling schools, late trains and a housing shortage, as well as how to cope with the migrant influx.
Nonetheless, the vote marked another milestone for the upstart AfD, which has campaigned on a xenophobic platform, similar to France’s National Front or far-right populists in Austria and the Netherlands, and gained support especially in Berlin’s poor eastern fringe districts.
A strong showing in Germany’s biggest city means it “doesn’t just benefit from discontent in rural areas but can establish itself… in a city of millions that is known for its open lifestyle,” said the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.
Germany took in one million asylum seekers last year, and over 70,000 of them came to Berlin, with many housed in the cavernous hangars of the Nazi-built former Tempelhof airport, once the hub for the Cold War-era Berlin airlift.
Merkel – who was booed this week by right-wing activists shouting “get lost” – before the election conceded it was hard to reach the “protest voters” who have turned their backs on mainstream parties.
Berlin’s SPD Mayor Michael Mueller dramatically warned on the eve of the election that a strong AfD result would be “seen throughout the world as a sign of the resurgence of the right and of Nazis in Germany”.
Merkel’s CDU has a national majority – but in Berlin it has served as junior coalition partner to Mueller’s SPD, traditionally the strongest party in the city.
As Mueller has rejected a new coalition with the CDU, Merkel’s party may be cast out of the Berlin government altogether.
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I fully support compulsory retirement. It provides employment opportunities for young people, getting new ideas etc. into companies. Older people in jobs for 40 to 50 years are so set in their ways and most are unwilling to change.
@Christy McCarthy:
Obviously, you’re in the “I’m alright Jack ” camp, probably with a nice pension and can afford to retire.
Many can’t, especially if you were caught in your late forties in the last recession. Many people never recovered and are now in early sixties.
@Christy McCarthy: I take it Christy, life is good for you, and I sincerely hope it is, but this is not everyone’s position, why should age prevent the prospect of meeting the ability to provide for need, so many struggle with hidden poverty, forced unemployment will only add to this and you are wrong in putting older people in a collective ‘set in their ways and unwilling to change’, a recent study showed the reason most people resist change in an organisation is that change is badly managed at management level, so before you make assumptions, know the facts ,perhaps there is a new reality to ‘old’ age
@Christy McCarthy:
The more people, irrespective of age, in productive employment the better it is for the economy. Young people might have new ideas but not always sencible or workable.
@Christy McCarthy:
unwilling to change?… stupid talk. Older people are the ones that look for change in work. I work in a large multinational were some of the workforce are retiring this year, and they don’t want to. Those “older” people at least wont be ringing in sick on a Monday or messing about in work acting the fools causing accidents. I’ve have a bunch of older people in before a lot of the younger ones with their FB profiles..
@Christy McCarthy: 60 is the new 40 or haven’t you heard ?
@Christy McCarthy: the human race is on a quest for immortality and when that happens there will be no retirement age. However jobs are unlikely anyway as they are already being replaced by AI at an alarming rate. What will humans do then?
A work ethic is hopefully what we are all proud of. Living longer and healthier allows us all to work for as long as we wish to. We will all know when it’s time to rest up but shouldn’t be pushed in to retiring from any job you have that your still capable of. Reducing hours by choice could be feasible. Age should not be a barrier to anything. Don’t disarm our older older generations their experiences is an asset !
@smudge: ‘Age should not be a barrier to anything’ Tell that to Mother Nature. I’m sure sites will be now be clogged with 70yr old plus bocklayers and labourers, or maybe not.
@smudge:
I agree with the sentiment, my own father worked until 77 but then I also know of a situation where someone who is 70 and doing his original job part time but doesn’t realise he is having difficulties. I difficult conversation with management is coming.
Going on family history, my estimated expiry date is early to mid sixties, and it is an assault on my human rights that anyone should be allowed to be employed up to age 70.
@Martello Mulligan: Maybe I’m not reading you correctly but that sounds a bit selfish.??
@Martello Mulligan: If a lot of your family died that young they must have smoked. So don’t smoke.
@William Grogan: That is a wild assumption. Lots of illnesses are genetic
@RJ.Fallon: It sounds ridiculous to be honest, how does a particular families life/death expectation impact all other individuals in a stated age range in employment, I take it Martello thinks they have no human rights.
Think the ‘work longer if they wish’ part of this is largely misleading. People who ‘retire’ usually continue to work in some capacity paid or otherwise – housework, cooking, gardening, childcare etc so getting into a flap about the right to work beyond a certain age is missing the point. The real issue facing people in the future will the scenario where people will have no choice but to work beyond retirement age. Does anyone seriously think that Ireland’s generation rent will be able to afford to pay spiralling rents on a pension? Given our demographics, there’s a big question mark over whether there will be enough funds to pay pensions in 30-40 years time so this ‘right to work’ should really be about the ‘need to work’ beyond retirement.
My Mum was still working up to last year at age 74 only reason stopped was because boutique closed down. She even got another Job in new one but her pay and hours where a disgrace so she did not take the Job
@Kerrie Roche:
Good for her. Great to see but older people are treated poorly by society in general so I’m not surprised at the derisory pay and conditions
Some people need and want to work for the sake of sanity alone and both the young AND old are exploited in that regard by some employers.
@Bat Daly: she is an amazing woman, even went to slane last year to guns and roses
It’s great that we oldies should have the chance to stay working longer but it’s also a bit selfish. It isn’t giving younger people a chance to move up. Young people need decent jobs to support their young families, us oldies have been there and done that and honestly I think they should be thinking of giving younger employees a chance and opt for part time work so they can ease themselves into retirement.
@Dorothy Giselsson: agreed. I also think that its wrong to force people to have to work until they are 67/68 – by the time I can claim my pension I’ll be 70!! Not all jobs are suitable for the elderly to continue to work but now people are being forced to work until these ages as they won’t get their pension! I agree as you say that perhaps there should be the option to work part time and ease into retirement but part pension should be paid in this instance. A disgrace our politicians can claim their multiple pensions so early when the multitude cannot.
I will be forced onto the dole later this year at 65, some cheek to call it retirement, people who retire get pension, I have to sign to job seekers the day after I stop work because of my birthday. Won’t pay my pension till I 66, 50 euros a week less is alot to lose and why???
If you are retirement age and feel like working or maybe you have to then do there is plenty of healthy 60 and 70 year olds and it should be their choice
Seen discrimination in a work place for staff that stay on after 65.Some are made move to a different shift and do a different job plus there now on a fixed term contract and don’t have any sick pay.
have your say