Headlines

The cases for and against a new grand coalition in Germany - What would Willy do?  

With the Social Democrats about to decide on entering formal negotiations, here are the arguments:

Berlin, Jan.19.– On Sunday Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) gather in Bonn, by the River Rhine, to decide whether to proceed to formal negotiations with Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Christian Social Union (CSU) allies. The choice will be made around mid-afternoon by 600 delegates comprising groups representing each of the 16 federal states according to population (the largest, North Rhine-Westphalia, sends 144).

It happens that the venue of the conference, in a southern suburb of the old West German capital, is within walking distance of Bad Godesberg. It was here, in 1959, that the SPD abandoned its old Marxist theories and embraced reform capitalism. This turning point paved the way to the election of Willy Brandt (pictured, above, addressing the conference in his capacity as West Berlin’s mayor) as the federal republic’s first SPD chancellor a decade later.

Tallin, Jan.19.– Estonian MEP Urmas Paet said that in an era of exponential growth in false news and propaganda from Russia, Europe must be less naive in self-defense.

"The most effective way to stand against propaganda and false news is to be adequate yourselves," Paet said at a plenary sitting of the European Parliament on Wednesday, where the topics of the impact of Russian propaganda in European Union member states was discussed.

The offensive is directed against kurdish forces that previously defeated ISIS in the Syrian village of Um Al Hosh, in the area of Afrin   

Sugedigi, Turkey. Jan.20.– President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey had “de-facto” launched a new operation on the ground to oust Kurdish militia from a northern Syrian enclave, defying US warnings that the action risked destabilising the area.

Turkey has in recent days sent dozens of military vehicles to the border area and readied pro-Ankara Syria rebels amid repeated threats from top officials the operation on the town of Afrin was imminent.

Puigdemont challenged the Spanish government while attending a meeting with his party 'Junts per Catalunya' parliament group in Brussels.

 Brussels, Jan.19.– The sacked former leader of Catalonia said on Friday he was perfectly eligible to be re-elected as regional president and there was no reason why he couldn’t rule the Spanish region remotely from self-imposed exile in Brussels.

Supporters of Carles Puigdemont, who faces arrest for charges including sedition and rebellion if he returns to Spain, have suggested he could rule via video link – earning him the sobriquet ‘the hologram president’ from detractors.