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| Is Chancellor Merkel Openly Inviting More Sex Crimes by Refugees? Posted: 09 Jan 2016 05:29 PM PST Refugee Sex Scandal In the wake of a New Year's Eve Sex Scandal in Cologne that involved approximately 1,000 refugees, German chancellor Angela Merkel proposed Tougher Migrant Laws. Before: Asylum seekers are only forcibly sent back if they have been sentenced to at least three years' imprisonment, and providing their lives are not at risk in their countries of origin. Proposed: Deport "serial offenders" convicted of lesser crimes. What We Know
Cover-Up Not only did the Cologne police attempt to suppress the story, so did the media and Merkel's government. The Telegraph reports 'Cover-Up' Over Cologne Sex Assaults Blamed on Migration Sensitivities The Daily Caller reports Germany's Largest Broadcaster Apologizes For Not Reporting Sexual Assault Attacks Germany's largest television station ZDF issued an apology Wednesday for not reporting on the New Year's Eve sexual assault scandal in the city of Cologne, where more than 100 women were victims of a "civil war like" situation.Right to Asylum "The right to asylum can be lost if someone is placed on probation or jailed," warned Merkel. Excuse me for asking, but what "right of asylum" is there, if any, and what right should there be? Deterrent or Invite? "Serial offenders who consistently return to theft or time and again insult women must count on the force of the law," said chancellor Merkel. Who is that supposed to scare? If illegal refugees commit multiple crimes, are caught and convicted, they will be deported, assuming of course they show up for trial or can be rounded up. Is that a deterrent or is it an open invite for more crimes in the face of absurd leniency? Merkel ought to admit she is in this way over her head, that she was wrong to issue a blanket invite to refugees, that she has no idea how to deal with the crisis, and most importantly, that her ideas are out of sync with German voters. Following those admissions, Merkel should do the honorable thing: resign. Mike "Mish" Shedlock |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2016 01:41 PM PST Deal Announced The Spanish political situation today is a lot different than a week ago. New elections were at hand in Catalonia if pro-independence parties could not resolve their differences. Today, the bickering parties set aside those differences in a striking deal to form a new government, guaranteed to raise a strong reaction from Madrid. To understand what led up to today's announcement, let's backtrack to fill in a few pieces. On January 3, the Financial Times reported Leadership divisions deal a blow to Catalan hopes for independence. The two main independence parties — the mainstream Junts pel Si movement and the anti-capitalist CUP — won a majority of seats in the Catalan parliament in a landmark regional election last September. Since then, however, the CUP has made it clear that it will not support Artur Mas, the current regional president and the de facto leader of Junts pel Si, for another term in office.No Relief for Madrid The sigh of relief in Madrid was short-lived. At the last minute, a deal has been announced that will make matters worse for Madrid than if CUP had gone along with Artur Mas as president. The new president will likely take an even firmer stance on independence, not only from Spain, but the EU. Expect a major reaction from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy soon. Pro-Independence Spanish Parties Strike Deal to Form Government Please consider Pro-Independence Spanish Parties Strike Deal to Form Government. The two pro-independence parties in the Spanish region of Catalonia have struck a last-minute deal to form a new government, after regional president Artur Mas agreed to step aside and let another politician lead the planned push towards secession.National Election Implications The December 20, Spanish national election left Spain in political shambles. I wrote about the results in Spanish Election: Two-party Dominance Ends; Rojoy's PP Party Fails to Win Majority; Vote Buying Spanish Style; Fragile Coalition Possibilities. Here were the results (revised slightly from my original post)
Many expected PP and Ciudadanos would have enough seats form a majority. Ciudadanos had been polling above 20% with Podemos sinking. Like PP, Ciudadanos is very much against the separatists in Catalonia, and very pro-euro. But 123 + 40 does not reach the 176 needed for an outright majority. Most of those "other" seats are for various separatist parties. So don't count on those votes. The socialists and conservatives could form a government, but how stable would that be? PSOE, Podemos, and Ciudadanos could in theory form a coalition but huge philosophical differences abound. Podemos is eurosceptic while Ciudadanos is very pro-Europe. In addition, Podemos is open to separatist elections and Ciudadanos would never go along. Ciudadanos, an anti-corruption party can hardly strike a deal with the corrupt and ruling PP without losing face. And even if it did, the votes are not there. Podemos is in the same boat. Prime minister Mariano Rajoy will likely appeal to all the other parties as a way to counteract the Catalan independence movement, but socialists and conservative don't mix well and the resultant government would be very weak. Look for intense pressure from many quarters for a PP/PSOE alliance just to keep the separatists at bay. New National Election Likely The Catalonia regional election will stand. But new national elections still seem likely, with unknown consequences. Mike "Mish" Shedlock |
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