Displaying items by tag: Germany

Alternative for Germany (AfD), founded in 2013, is a right-wing populist and Eurosceptic political party. In 2016 it made an alliance with the Freedom Party of Austria, with both party leaders saying border control officers should use armed force if necessary to protect the border. By May 2017, the AfD had gained representation in 13 of the 16 German state parliaments. Now it has become the third largest party in the German parliament, partly because immigration was the main election issue. Postwar Germany is multicultural, tolerant and liberal: abhorring war, and defending the environment, human rights and international teamwork. BUT the influx of over one million Muslim migrants, Russia’s dramatic resurgence, and Europe’s rolling financial problems are arousing other feelings and aspirations. These emotions don’t square with the desire to be tolerant and multicultural. Many are saying that a more powerful, more assertive, more terrifying Germany is coming.

The German elections have weakened Chancellor Merkel’s leadership authority. Weeks of Brexit talks will be lost while Germany forms a government that can command a majority in its parliament. In the UK there are disagreements between Westminster and the leaders of the devolved parliaments/assemblies over which powers should eventually be ‘taken back’ from Brussels and the continuing failure to reach a Northern Ireland border agreement. Much more could be written, but the key thing for us all is to keep praying for those involved in the Brexit negotiations. May they make agreements that will speedily remove the fear and uncertainty faced by UK citizens in Europe and EU citizens in the UK, and bring clarity to businesses employing thousands who need to plan ahead for the next twelve months and beyond.

Angela Merkel has been chancellor since 2005. Her Lutheran faith (she calls it an inner compass) expresses itself in her unflashy style and her instincts - debt is bad; helping the needy, good. She thinks ethically, not ideologically. ‘I’m a bit liberal, a bit Christian-social, a bit conservative’, she said in 2009. Her years in office have made her a familiar figure to Germans and to the world. However, Germany needs reform. The lowest-paid 40% of German workers are earning less than 20 years ago. Foodbank use is up. The rate of investment has been dropping since 2012. Bridges creak and potholed roads challenge even the best-engineered suspensions. The economically crucial car industry has been tainted, as has the country’s air, by emissions from the diesel engines it favours (a scandal it tried to cover up). Dirty coal is filling gaps left by closing nuclear plants, and the country’s carbon-dioxide emissions are up.

President Erdogan labelled mainstream German political parties and their leaders - including Mrs Merkel - ‘enemies of Turkey’, and called on Turks not to vote for them in Germany’s elections on 24 September. This raised hackles on the German side; Mrs Merkel called it ‘meddling’ in German elections, saying that voters had the right to vote freely, regardless of background. SPD leader Martin Schulz said Erdogan ‘had lost any sense of proportion.’ Meanwhile, AfD leader Frauke Petry faces a perjury fight. Ms Petry moved the AfD to the right after it was founded as an anti-euro movement. In 2016, amid the influx of migrants and refugees into Germany, she suggested that police should ‘if necessary’ shoot at migrants seeking to enter illegally. Now there are calls for her to lose her immunity from prosecution over allegations of perjury (she is suspected of making false statements under oath before a parliamentary committee in November 2015). AfD hopes to enter Berlin’s parliament in September’s election. See also http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40961113

Friends, here is an update from Bernd Oettinghaus, the coordinator of the prayer effort in Hamburg and Berthold Becker of Kainos Ministries on what has been happening there during the recent G20:

Thanks for all who responded to our spontaneous prayer initiative joining in with the many initiatives mobilizing prayer around the globe.

The G20 finished peacefully and in a positive spirit which is an answer to prayer. Also on Saturday around 75,000 people were able to demonstrate peacefully and present their issues.

Saturday night there were riots again but much less than expected. This was certainly an answer to prayer. The force of the riots was extreme, much damage and around 470 police injured. However, the Lord hindered more evil.

The government leaders promised unbureaucratic help and compensation for all damage done over this weekend. On Sunday thousands of people of all ages spontaneously followed a grass roots initiative to clean up the streets. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=hamburg+clean+up+after+g20+youtube&view=detail&mid=169FB132E4C493CFFC7F169FB132E4C493CFFC7F&FORM=VIRE

It was great to be in a net of international intercession. The results of the Summit are less bad as expected. The heads of the 20 nations keep talking instead of walking alone or against each other. But we have to continue in prayer for the world leadership.

In my nation we are cleansing the political arena and weeping out a hidden sympathy for the extrem left wing and asking questions about the strategy of the police, why they let the anarchy situation on Friday night grow for 3-4 hours.

One other result is: The radical left-wing movement and their open-ness for violence is no longer accepted, which helps to stand against it, but on the other side as the danger in it to move in the underground scene.

We will have a prayer conference from 1st to 3rd September 2017 in Berlin where we want to target the leftwing spirit from the 68revolution including the philosophical movement of Adorno and Horxheimer  „Frankfurter Schule“, the terroristic movement of the „Red Army Fraction“ from the 90th. The beginning of this movement is over now for 50 years, and we want to deal with all this socialist movements, kommunist and maoisem/leninism in our nation and in Europe. We also invite Chinese prayer leaders to help in this issue. www.waechterruf.de

We take those days of the G20 as a God given insight in the chaotic powers behind this still alive movement in Europe/the world. We do not want a new wave of radical violent movements in Germany and Europe. Not on the right wing and also not on the left wing.

We do not want a police, which is not under the political control of democratic forces, even no unique individuals or groups among the police fighting their own battles.

We want to learn as the Body of Christ in my nation, to stand together in Prayer alongside the political leaders and the police forces. On 24th September 2017 we will have a national vote.

Blessings and thanks to all prayer warriors

Bernd Oettinghaus /  Berthold Becker  
www.waechterruf.de / www.kainos.de

Last summer saw terrorist attacks. Do we still pray during holiday periods? We need recreation, but the enemy doesn’t take holidays - let’s stay alert, continuing to intercede during holidays. Recent events show how quickly alliances between nations can become uncertain. Nations often enter into alliances for economic reasons. Every agreement and negotiation with another nation comes with spiritual consequences. Much wisdom is required for alliances with Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Africa. Israel must be continually ‘watched over’ in prayer. Pray for Germany’s foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel as he settles into his new office.

Hamburg's police have already had to deal with violent protests at the G20 summit. Hi-tech water cannons were used to disperse crowds on 4 July, injuring five people. Protesters are expected to hoard weapons at secret locations ahead of the summit where global trade, terrorism, climate change, North Korean missiles, Brexit, digitalisation and empowering women will be on the agenda. Body language will be scrutinised in the first face-to-face meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin: pray for a working dialogue between these two leaders. US attitude to trade following Trump's 'America First' policy could be a bone of contention, as will climate change after President Trump pulled out of the Paris climate change agreement. Pray that globalisation and climate solutions are negotiated with a win/win attitude. Angela Merkel has based the talks around an 'interconnected' world, and will address differences between countries.

Senior figures in Europe have been pondering how the result of Theresa May’s election gamble will affect the Brexit negotiations. The newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said that the European Commission views the election result as a sign that most Brits don’t desire a ‘hard exit’ from the EU. The European Commissioner, Günther Oettinger, has reportedly said that it may now be possible to discuss ‘closer relations’ between the UK and the EU than Mrs May had originally planned. However Wycombe MP Steve Baker, a committed Christian and one of the most vocal Eurosceptic Tory MPs, was moved in the cabinet reshuffle to an important role in the Brexit department. The choice of Mr Baker is likely to anger those hoping the election result would force Mrs May to adopt a more conciliatory tone on Brexit and drop threats to leave the EU without a trade deal. See also

The German foreign minister has announced extra aid to improve conditions at refugee camps. He warned of growing instability, and urged warring parties to overcome their differences and support the UN-backed government. Berlin will provide 3.5 million euros to Libyan authorities to improve conditions at refugee camps in the country. The money is expected to complement relief funds provided by Germany aimed at easing Europe's migration crisis. It is Germany’s goal, to work with the Libyans to resist the instability that has arisen from the absence of established structures. Meanwhile the UNHCR said that Libya must release refugees held in detention centres. Germany called the three rival Libyan authorities to overcome their differences through dialogue and said that conflicting parties should abide by UN-brokered agreements signed in 2015, which established the government of national accord led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

Since 2012 the German birth rate has been increasing. In 2014 the Huffington Post reported petitions circulating to warn the public about the threat to the midwifery profession. They called on expectant families to put pressure on the German government’s health minister to come up with a solution to the massive increases in insurance rates on midwives, especially those who assist in birth. The July 2017 German Intercessors newsletter requests prayer for midwives’ working conditions. ‘Anyone looking for a midwife before childbirth must expect many refusals. More and more freelance midwives are leaving the profession. They cannot afford the unbelievably high contributions for personal liability insurance, even though subsidies are now provided by the state.’ The midwife association is asking for a fund to cover liabilities for self-employed midwives. Full-time salaried midwives have another problem; their working conditions allow them no time to rest.