News Agency on Conservative Europe Report 2021, No. 7. Report on conservative and right wing Europe 5th April, 2021 GERMANY 1. magyarhirlap.hu (translated, original by Szilvia Harle, 30.03.2021) Provincial leaders were criticized by Merkel for handling the epidemic More and more CDU MPs support Söder's candidacy for chancellor German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come under fire for criticism as a result of an interview broadcast on Das Erste on Sunday night. Provincial leaders were criticized by Merkel for handling the epidemic In the show, the federal prime minister essentially blamed the provinces for the failure of German epidemic management. According to Merkel, stricter measures are needed, which some provinces are unwilling to do. If there is no change soon, we need to think about how to make binding rules at the federal level, he added. 2 He rejected the chancellor's criticism of North Rhine-Westphalia's liberal deputy head of government, Joachim Stamp, who told Die Welt that the federal government should first make up for its own shortcomings. Bodo Ramelow, the left-wing prime minister of the Land of Thuringia, called Merkel's threat irritating. However, the chancellor's proposal was supported by Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder, president of the Christian Social Union (CSU), who said he was open to giving the federal government more power to regulate epidemiological measures. The CDU / CSU wants to elect its joint chancellor candidate for the September Bundestag elections in the spring. According to surveys, Markus Söder is much more popular than Armin Laschet, who heads the CDU, but the party has so far spoken out in favor of its president in public. Yesterday, however, Christian Democrat Johannes Steiniger of the Rhineland-Palatinate told Der Spiegel that the politician with whom the union parties had the best chance should be elected, and that is Söder. He added that he does not know anyone at the CDU base who would support Laschet’s candidacy for chancellor. According to Ronja Kemmer, CDU MP in Baden-Württemberg, the March provincial elections also showed that trust in candidates is extremely important. 2. vg.hu (translated, original by T.M., 31.03.2021) Merkel, Macron and Putin agreed on the use of Sputnik V in Europe Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron discussed each other in a conference call on Tuesday, the main topic of the meeting was the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in Europe, The Guardian reported. According to Moscow sources, the Russian, German and French presidents also discussed the registration of vaccines in the EU, the mode of transport and the possibility of joint production. 3 The European Union is currently struggling with vaccine shortages, which are expected to ease soon as 300 million doses of vaccine are expected from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca between early April and the end of June. The German government announced last week that it was open to the use of Sputnik V, as approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). German Chancellor Merkel herself said that Germany should use all vaccines that the EMA has given a green light to. In the case of France, an interesting addition is that Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian last week made a critical voice over the Russian and Chinese vaccines. The way the Russian vaccine is managed is more propaganda and gaining influence than helping, Le Drian said at the time. French EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has previously said that the union does not need Sputnik V at all, as it will be able to get 300-350 million doses without it by the end of June. In response, the Russian vaccine manufacturer called Breton biased and expressed hope that this was not the EU's official position. The EMA launched a vaccine authorization process in early March, during which a number of studies will be carried out. EU experts will visit Russia in early April to monitor the production process. The caution with Russian vaccines can be traced back to the fact that the vaccine was registered in August, when extensive testing had not yet taken place. Despite initial fears, the vaccine was later shown to be more than 90 percent effective in clinical trials. 4 Although Russian manufacturers have so far failed to significantly increase their capacity to meet both domestic and foreign demand, the government plans to produce 178 million Sputnik V vaccines by the end of June, of which just over 100 million doses can be exported. In addition, two other vaccines, EpiCacCorona and CoviVak, are being developed. The Russian pharmaceutical company R-Pharm said last week that production of the vaccine will soon begin at a plant in southern Germany as well. Additional potential production sites have been identified as Italy, France and Spain. The conference talks between the three leaders also touched upon the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the issue of the imprisonment of Alexei Nalvani. 3. jungefreiheit.de (translated, original by Alexander Graf, 29.03.2021) Identity Politics on the Warpath Greens censor "Indian chief" statement The "Indian chief" affair does not let the Berlin Greens come to rest. After the top candidate for the House of Representatives election, Bettina Jarasch, said during an introductory round at the state party congress that she would have liked to become an Indian chief as a child, the state association is still concerned with the question of how to deal with it. Apparently it is not enough that Jarasch publicly apologized shortly afterwards in her speech a week and a half ago for her choice of words and was retrospectively ashamed of her childhood dream. Now the regional association has resorted to the censorship scissors and removed Jarasch's verbal slip from the video of the event on YouTube. At the appropriate place, a plaque informs about the fact that “a term was used at this point” that “is degrading towards members of indigenous peoples”. The party leadership admits self-critically: "We too are constantly 5 learning and want to continue to work on questioning our own actions and speech on discriminatory thought patterns." Jarasch adds on Twitter Subsequently, reference is made to Jarasch's self-indictment during her party conference speech. A hint of Stalinist show trials wafts towards the viewer and one suspects the torments of conscience the Greens have to torment on these issues. Last weekend, Jarasch once again followed up with her public penance. On Twitter, she let the world know that she had spoken to a party member that she was personally affected and "actually injured" by the Indian saying. So that her statement from the introductory round "does not remain unordered in the live stream", she was subsequently deleted. Will the hatchet be buried? Alternatively, the state association could have left the scandalous response of its top candidate as a deterrent example and a warning to future generations in the video. But of course only with a preceding warning so that the viewers - whether indigenous people or pale faces - do not suffer any trauma. It remains to be seen whether the evil spirits conjured up by Jarasch's choice of words will come to rest with it. Greens on the identity-political warpath are difficult to appease and the hatchet will not be buried that quickly. 4. tichyseinblick.de (translated, original by Silvia Pantel, 26.03.2021) The “Federal Equality Foundation” is expensive, ideological and unnecessary 6 With the planned “Federal Equal Opportunity Foundation”, the Bundestag would give up one competence - to a left-green apron organization. The foundation mandate “Equal Opportunities” does not correspond to the constitutional mandate “Equal Opportunities”. By Sylvia Pantel, Member of the Bundestag The federal government has decided to set up the “Federal Equality Foundation” in the cabinet. Today the draft law will be debated in the German Bundestag for the first time. The foundation aims to promote equality between women and men in Germany. To this end, concepts for “successful equality” are to be developed, state authorities and commercial enterprises are to be advised, and “expertise” is to be provided comprehensively. The cost of the project in 2021 will be 3.2 million euros. In addition, 33 staff positions are to be created. A further 5.2 million euros per year are planned for the years 2022 to 2024, a total of 18.8 million euros that will be "invested" over three and a half years. The usual confusion of terms - equality instead of equality But what for? Sure, equality has already been mentioned and has become a common placeholder in the political debate. The consistent ignoring of a semantic subtlety makes the difference here. Article 3 of the Basic Law states: “(2) Men and women have equal rights . The state promotes the actual implementation of equality between women and men and works towards the elimination of existing disadvantages. " A “Foundation for Equal Opportunities” could possibly be approved. However, this fictitious foundation is not up for debate. Instead, it's about equality. The confusion of terms suppresses the fact that equality is about guaranteeing the same rights for everyone (Article 3 of the Basic Law: “All people are equal before the law”). Equality, however, means equality of results, and that is explicitly not the mandate that the Basic Law places on the government. Own goal “Board of Trustees” - Majorities can be organized together with the Left Party The board of trustees should be made up as follows: Ten places will be allocated proportionally to the parliamentary groups represented in the Bundestag. In addition, there is the respective family minister, who should have a veto right in personnel and budgetary 7 matters.