BERLIN – BRATISLAVA – A COMMON ISSUE?
MIROSŁAW PIOTROWSKI
In the capital of Germany election has ended. The local ones. The party of the chancellor Angela Merkel has failed again. Prominent politicians of CDU speak openly: ‘electors showed us a red card’. The situation is becoming less and less nice, both for Christian Democrats and Merkel, who resigned from her journey to New York and did not take part in an important debate of the UNO. She preferred staying in Berlin in order to explain, talk….Social-democrats won, and CDU was the second one. However, it is not the thing which hurts. For, the AfD took a higher place, which is critical towards Merkel and which had not had its representatives here. The alternative for Germany placed its 25 candidates in Landtag in Berlin, and eth Christian Democracy only by 6 more. It is two years since the AfD has had its representatives also in the European Parliament. I was sitting in a plenary aula in Strasburg with an euro-deputy of the AfD for a long time. It was a great occasion to exchange our opinions and for a discussion. Observing how his party was getting popular, I asked him what he had been doing in Germany. Nothing, he said. We only criticize Merkel for her migration policy. The problem must be very serious, as the aforementioned party has got its representatives in nine (per sixteen) lands, and the next election is very soon. It is also in Bundestag next year. The problem of refugees and migrants was also discussed at an informal summit meeting of the European Council which had been organized in Bratislava. Although this issue was not included in its agenda, the summit meeting confirmed the change of the course of the Union in the issue of migration. The summit meeting in Bratislava was attended by the chancellor Merkel, but the prime minister of Great Britain Theresa May had not been invited. Obviously Brexit, so Great Britain was omitted, although it was tactless and unkind. Leaders of 27 countries of the Union, when sailing on Danube and having their lunch, were thinking on the future. Not only of the Union, but also theirs. After the meeting, one of stronger messages was sent to the world. Relocations of migrants in Europe will not be enforced, and there will not be any punishments for not accepting them, and ‘elastic solidarity’ will domineer in this sphere. It means the victory of the Visegrad group, that is, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is possible that soon the group of the four countries will get bigger. A candidate for president of Austria has already submitted a suitable declaration and the election is in December. After it there will be the next one in Germany, France and other EU countries.
AA
„Niedziela” 40/2016