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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\nBy JAMES ANGELOS<\/strong><\/p>\n with NETTE N\u00d6STLINGER<\/strong><\/p>\n EAST-WEST DIVIDE<\/p>\n NEW ANTHEM?<\/strong> Germany\u2019s fraught history means national symbols are often fodder for heated debate.<\/p>\n And so it was again<\/strong> this week when a small furor erupted after a prominent leftist politician, Bodo Ramelow, suggested the country might benefit from voting on a different national anthem. Many people he knows in the former East Germany, where his constituency is located, don\u2019t relate to the current anthem, Das Lied der Deutschen, Ramelow said in an interview in German newspaper Rheinische Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Disaffection:<\/strong> \u201cI know many eastern Germans who do not sing along,\u201d Ramelow said. A vote on a new anthem, he suggested, could bridge the ever-deepening political fissure emerging between the former East Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is ascendant, and the rest of the country. Ramelow said an anthem with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht could be one option.<\/p>\n Pick an anthem:<\/strong> Around the office, our editorial staff had some other suggestions, like this<\/a> or this<\/a>, but we digress.<\/p>\n Tempest in a teapot: <\/strong>As the Germans like to say, a small Shitstorm<\/a> ensued. Ramelow\u2019s proposal was roundly criticized, particularly by the right. Conservative Carsten Linnemann, the general secretary of Chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s Christian Democratic Union, accused Ramelow of needlessly fomenting a culture war.<\/p>\n Love it or leave it? <\/strong>\u201cOur flag and our anthem stand for our democracy, our fundamental rights, and our constitutional state,\u201d said Linnemann. \u201cAnyone who is uncomfortable with this has a problem with the free and democratic basic order of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n History lesson:<\/strong> As is often the case, the debate touched a raw nerve rooted in Germany\u2019s dark past. The lyrics to Germany\u2019s national anthem consist in part of a poem penned by nationalist poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1841, sung to the tune by Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. The anthem was first widely used during the Weimar Republic, including the original first verse, which begins \u201cDeutschland, Deutschland \u00fcber alles, \u00fcber alles in der Welt,\u201d or \u201cGermany, Germany above all, above all in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n That line didn\u2019t age well<\/strong> because, when the Nazis came to power, they partially retained the anthem, using that first verse as a rally cry for world domination. After World War II, West Germany retained Das Lied der Deutschen, but skipped the first verse. East Germany went with a tune called Auferstanden aus Ruinen, or \u201cRisen from Ruins.\u201d<\/p>\n The present:<\/strong> This gets us back to Ramelow\u2019s core point. Upon German reunification, proposals for a new anthem were passed over, and the old East German anthem was supplanted by the West German one, exacerbating a feeling among many in the East that they were being overtaken rather than integrated into a unified Germany. Ramelow\u2019s argument is that there ought to have been a democratic choice, and there could still be one today that would allow disaffected eastern Germans to feel more vested in the current republic.<\/p>\n East interpreter:<\/strong> Ramelow is a lawmaker for Germany\u2019s Die Linke<\/a>, or The Left party, who now serves as the vice president of Germany\u2019s Bundestag. Although he originally comes from West Germany, he has become something of an interpreter of the eastern Germans, or Ossis, to the rest of the country.<\/p>\n Waving the flag:<\/strong> Ramelow told us he enthusiastically sings the current national anthem and is true to the flag, but some in his part of the country fly the \u201cwrong flags\u201d \u2014\u00a0those associated with extreme-right movements \u2014\u00a0or fly the current German flag upside down. A vote on national symbols like the anthem, he said, could help draw people into the democratic process and stop the rise of the far right.<\/p>\n Matter of courage?<\/strong> \u201cI say quite clearly that our established politicians lack courage,\u201d he said. \u201cThey let everything run its course and hope that things won\u2019t get worse, and then they are surprised when the far right gains more and more ground with every election.\u201d<\/p>\n Good intentions: <\/strong>The problem for Ramelow is that, in the very unlikely case there is a vote on an anthem, the far right would not go for his Bertolt Brecht suggestion. In fact, in response to Ramelow\u2019s suggestion, one AfD politician suggested<\/a> Germany bring back the \u201cGermany above all\u201d verse.<\/p>\n The whole episode<\/strong>, while mostly a tempest in a teapot, serves as a reminder that the former East Germany continues to chart an increasingly radical course. In a poll released this week in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, where a regional election will be held next year, the AfD came out far ahead with 39 percent. A debate on national symbols is unlikely to stop the party\u2019s rise.<\/p>\n SECURITY GUARANTEES, FOR TRUMP?<\/p>\n GETTING TRUMP BACK ON BOARD: <\/strong>The main aim of Thursday\u2019s coalition of the willing\u00a0meeting <\/a>\u2014 during which Kyiv\u2019s allies agreed on the conditions for how they would protect Ukraine in the event the war ends \u2014was essentially to get Trump back on board.<\/p>\n The offer:<\/strong> Twenty-six of Ukraine\u2019s allies pledged operational and financial support in the event of a peace deal, including international troops on land, sea and air, French President Emmanuel Macron\u00a0said in a press conference Thursday. That vow prompted an immediate response<\/a> from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who threatened that any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would provoke a military response from Russia.<\/p>\n Expressing hope: <\/strong>After their initial call on Thursday, the leaders of the so-called \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d \u2014 consisting of most European countries, the U.K., Canada and Japan, among others \u2014 convened a virtual chat with Trump, during which \u00b4\u201dthey expressed their hope that the United States would continue to contribute substantially to the joint efforts to support Ukraine, formulate security guarantees, and shape an effective diplomatic process,\u201d according to a statement from the German government.<\/p>\n \u2018Still pending\u2019:<\/strong> A German official later put things somewhat less diplomatically (for Berlin standards, at least): \u201cThe aim was to make clear to the U.S. that Europe has fulfilled its part of the agreement and that we are now waiting for a response.\u201d Among the things Europe expects from the U.S., the official added, are intensified diplomatic efforts to secure a peace deal, U.S. security guarantees to back up European peacekeeping troops and to consider sanctioning Russia. \u201cThe President\u2019s responses to this are still pending,\u201d the official said when asked about Trump\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n IN OTHER NEWS<\/p>\n EYES ON THE ECONOMY: <\/strong>Merz\u2019s government has tasked itself with stimulating the country\u2019s sluggish economy. To do so, the coalition unleashed hundreds of billions of euros<\/a> in new borrowing for defense and infrastructure spending. But for now, forecasts for the EU\u2019s biggest economy are still taking a downward turn. Two of the country\u2019s leading think-tanks on Thursday cut their estimates for gross domestic product this year \u2014 to 0.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively \u2014 amid\u00a0a big downward revision<\/a>\u00a0to official second-quarter data and fears that the trade deal agreed between the EU and U.S. won\u2019t hold. Merz had actually\u00a0hoped to turn the page<\/a>\u00a0by summer (and is now pledging an \u201cautumn of reforms\u201d), but latest strains in Merz\u2019s coalition government may have sown doubts about whether the political leadership can deliver the kind of reforms needed to restore Germany\u2019s economic dynamism, our colleague Johanna Treeck writes in this piece<\/a>.<\/p>\n MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL AT FINISHING LINE:<\/strong> The European Commission took a major step on Wednesday toward closing its big trade deal with the Mercosur bloc, something Germany has long longed for amid the slump in its export-oriented economy and Trump\u2019s trade war with Europe. The Mercosur deal has languished for 25 years, facing staunch opposition from powerful European farmers backed by France, Poland, and Italy, who feared that a glut of cheap agricultural produce would undercut local producers. The approval of France \u2014 the agreement\u2019s staunchest opponent \u2014 was eventually secured via a proposal to protect farmers if local produce markets are destabilized by a flood of beef or poultry imports from Latin America. The Commission expects to sign the agreement in early 2026, after capitals and the European Parliament give their blessing.\u00a0Full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n THE WEEK AHEAD<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR MEETING: <\/strong>Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Merz will hold opening talks at this year\u2019s conference of the heads of German Missions at the foreign office in Berlin on Monday. <\/p>\n CAR SUMMIT: <\/strong>Merz will be in Munich at the IAA auto show on Tuesday, where he is scheduled to give a speech and take part in a panel, after convening with the board of the German Association of the Automotive Industry in the morning. <\/p>\n COSTA IN BERLIN:\u00a0<\/strong>European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa is set to have dinner with Merz in the chancellery on Wednesday to prepare for the informal summit of EU leaders in Copenhagen next month and the following EU summit at the end of October in Brussels.<\/p>\n O, SORRY, CANADA<\/a>: <\/strong>We apologize for misspelling the Canadian capital, Ottawa, in last week\u2019s Bulletin and appreciate our proud Canadian readership for getting in touch to point out the error.<\/p>\n HATE MAIL:<\/strong>\u00a0Send complaints (if you must), tips, checks and random thoughts to\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family:<\/strong> Brussels Playbook<\/a> | London Playbook<\/a> | London Playbook PM<\/a> | Playbook Paris<\/a> | EU Election Playbook<\/a> | Berlin Playbook<\/a> | Global Playbook<\/a> | POLITICO Confidential<\/a> | Sunday Crunch<\/a> | EU Influence<\/a> | London Influence<\/a> | Berlin Bulletin<\/a> | Living Cities<\/a> | D.C. Playbook<\/a> | D.C. Influence<\/a> | Canada Playbook<\/a> | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A weekly newsletter on German politics, with news and analysis on the new government. By JAMES ANGELOS with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[2000,299,1824],"class_list":{"0":"post-400662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-germany"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115153160499825265","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}