Musk states "the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy". Charles Darwin, who actually researched this stuff, showed it was empathy, specifically, that enabled humanity to flourish.

Strategic optimism: A silver lining playbook for Europe: ecfr.eu/article/stra...

German public TV just published this poll of first-time voters. A massive lead for socialist Left party on 27%.

Left + SPD + Greens on 54% among first-time-voters. Those voters were also slightly less likely to vote AfD than national average.

So much for the “far-right youth”.

ARD polling rather confirms this suspicion. Pistorius much the more appealing chancellor especially among CDU/CSU voters.

This graphic from ARD sums up the difference that FDP and BSW in Bundestag (so at 5.0% or more) would make.

Without FDP and BSW: CDU/CSU-SPD (grand coalition) possible
With FDP and BSW: only tripartite coalition or minority government possible

“Hitler systematically disabled and then dismantled his country’s democratic structures and processes in less than two months’ time—specifically, one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes,” Timothy W. Ryback writes in a step-by-step account:

Quali sono i partiti tedeschi più affini, in base alle proposte contenute nei loro programmi?
Possiamo scoprirlo grazie al Wahl-O-Mat, utilissimo strumento realizzato a ogni elezione dalla @bpb.de

#kater #btw2025

katercollective.com/2025/02/19/m...

A South African imam who devoted his life to promoting gay rights and tolerance for LGBTQ Muslims was shot and killed in the coastal city of Gqeberha on Saturday, the police said. Muhsin Hendricks was credited by some as being the world’s first openly gay imam.

*MEANWHILE, IN AUSTRIA..* And so, it’s official and so begin the mutual recriminations: the FPÖ and ÖVP have pulled the plug on their coalition talks, plunging the country into uncertainty as irreconcilable differences between the major parties preclude them from any viable paths to power. 1/27

There’s an increasingly plausible scenario in which the one major electoral effect of Merz’s migration stunt is to push the Left party above 5% threshold, denying “grand coalition” a majority and forcing him into a grim choice between tripartite coalition and minority government

BREAKING: France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain & UK sign a joint statement vowing to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty & demanding a role in the peace talks.

This is leadership.

It’s also unprecedented.

A western alliance is having to form against a new, twin & united threat: Trump & Putin.

Dai vincitori annunciati agli sconfitti annunciati: i socialdemocratici del Cancelliere uscente Olaf Scholz, il cui destino sembra segnato.

#kater #spd #scholz #btw2025

katercollective.com/2025/02/13/v...

🧵 Belli i dazi, perché non li mettiamo anche noi?

Perché sono un autogol:

1 Aumentano i prezzi dei beni importati e nazionali
2 Causano rappresaglie e peggiorano relazioni internazionali
3 Peggiorano competitività occupazione e salari
4 Gettito incerto ed effetti regressivi

👇

1/18

In vista del voto 🇩🇪 iniziamo una rassegna dei partiti in pizza, a partire naturalmente dai vincitori annunciati - l'Union di Friedrich Merz.
Panoramica, programma, prospettive e cose buffe.
Soprattutto cose buffe.

#kater #btw2025 #merz

katercollective.com/2025/02/12/v...

“Chaos versus strategy” is a misleading and unhelpful binary for understanding Trump’s second presidency, @dgraham.bsky.social writes in The Atlantic Daily. The president’s goal is not simply to create confusion: