NM's blog

By Jorge Martin Political earthquake in Germany. Or rather, two political earthquakes in one night, one in Berlin, the other in Mecklenburg - Western Pomerania. To which you have to add the other political earthquake two weeks ago in Saxony-Anhalt. Merz is in difficulties. Visibly shaken on election night, he vowed to continue with his government's program of "reforms" - read an all out assault on pensions, the health service and long-term care. Let's recap. On Sept 6, the ruling party CDU was decisively defeated in Saxony-Anhalt, losing 20 percentage points (from 37 to 17), with the reactionary right populist AfD winning a clear victory, with over 43% of the vote. Tonight, the CDU has received less than 5% of the vote in Mecklenburg West Pomerania, a crushing defeat, which will mean the party will not be represented in the state parliament for the first time in history! The AfD has come first, with over 38% of the vote, 21 points more than 5 years ago. In Berlin, the...

“ The reason for this development is a deep economic and political crisis, to which the established parties have no answers.” By Leandros Fisher 07 September 2026 The fact that the AfD can win a state election is not new. Already in 2024, the party led by Björn Höcke was far ahead of all other parties. The difference to Saxony-Anhalt: in 2024, it was still possible for the majority without the AfD. In Saxony-Anhalt, the "old order" was destroyed, writes the Neue Zürich Zeitung, because "the signs in German politics have turned around: it is the AfD that invites talks, formulates conditions, draws red lines, and thinks about a minority government." The reason for this development is a deep economic and political crisis, to which the established parties have no answers. Friedrich Merz had already insulted people as exploiters and angry citizens before the election, thereby showing that the Union is becoming a full-fledged crisis solver for the working class. The state...

Six signs of breakdown, according to Ilan Pappé

“The electoral infrastructure and the mobilisation of the security apparatus — the police and Islamo-nationalist militias rather than the army — may get Erdoğan re-elected. But the three pillars of his political project — the credibility of the state, his assertive foreign policy and economic success — have been shaken by the earthquake .”

“ Most agree that the root of the problem lies in the ongoing economic crisis”

“ In France, the mostly working-class descendants of postcolonial immigrants from North and Sub-Saharan Africa   were the first victims of the economic crisis that began in the 1980s, and were subjected to segregation, whether in accessing housing or jobs or in their contacts with the authorities (racial profiling by the police). Given the growing importance of questions of identity in French public debate, it’s not surprising that some young people express their rejection of a society that has no room for them by stressing their personal identity — religion, country of origin and race (defined by the colour of their skin). The poorest are deprived, for socioeconomic reasons, of resources that would let them diversify their social connections and affiliations. We will never understand the world we live in if we forget that social class, defined in terms of economic and cultural capital, remains the determining factor to which other dimensions of identity are tied.” —Stéphane Beaud ...

 On Blaming Climate Change for the Syrian Civil War