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...

Does the German poet Heinrich Heine have anything relevant today' Germany? Yes,  Heinrich Heine  is astoundingly relevant to today's Germany , so much so that his 19th-century writings read like a contemporary commentary on the nation's modern cultural, political, and social struggles.  [1, 2]  Though he spent the last 25 years of his life exiled in Paris, his complex relationship with his homeland—a mix of deep longing, bitter irony, and fierce critique—laid the groundwork for how modern Germany views itself.  [3, 4, 5]  1. A Prophet of the 20th Century (and Beyond) Heine is famously studied in Germany today for his uncanny, haunting ability to look into the future. In his 1821 play  Almansor , he wrote a line that is now engraved at the Bebelplatz Memorial in Berlin, where the Nazis burned books in 1933:  [6]  "Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people also."  [4]  This quote cements Heine as Germany’s absolute mora...

In Germany, the far-right, anti-immigration party  Alternative for Germany (AfD)  routinely achieves its most substantial electoral victories in rural, remote, and economically marginalised areas—particularly in the former  East Germany —where the actual percentage of foreign-born residents and immigrants is exceptionally low.  This trend was starkly illustrated by the AfD's historic landslide victory in the eastern state of  Saxony-Anhalt , a region with a very low proportion of foreigners. In November 2019 Gareth Dale provided a background .

“ 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...

An exchange A study on why Tunisians were the biggest number to go to Syria and join ISIS. Multiple comprehensive studies, including those by the  National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ,  The Washington Institute , and  International Alert , reveal that between  6,000 and 7,000 Tunisians  traveled to join ISIS due to a unique intersection of  post-revolution state absence, severe youth marginalisation, structural economic failure, and easy regional logistics .  [1, 2, 3]  While Tunisia was celebrated as the sole democratic success story of the 2011 Arab Spring, this rapid political transition paradoxically created the perfect breeding ground for radical recruitment.  [3, 4]  1. Political Transition and "Security Vacuum" Amnesty for Radicals : Following the 2011 revolution, the transitional government issued a general amnesty, releasing hundreds of hardline Islamist political prisoners and violent jihadists who quickly formed recrui...