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09/05/2005 Entry: "In Germany Constitutional Rights Only for the Bourgeois Class"

In Germany Constitutional Rights Only for the Bourgeois Class

Not totally unlike elsewhere of course, but a present censorship case shows the petty spirit (if you can call that spirit) of that conglomerate of the conservative political establishment (both right and left) with the State media. A small political party will participate in the upcoming elections on September 18. But only in the Lands (federal states) of Hamburg and Berlin. The numerous and heavy restricting conditions put on the participation in elections for non-established parties had seen to this. The party in question, as the initiator, followed by several other parties and members of parliament, had vainly applied to the Constitutional Court to have PM Schröder's premature dissolution of the parliament declared unconstitutional, as not sufficiently warranted. It was claimed that the participating parties had not enough time left to prepare and lead their campaigns and gather the required signatures from voters. It was too short notice. Also, members of parliament had claimed that, though rightfully elected for the intended number of years, they were spoliated of part of that time for no good enough reason. Poor members of parliament! I hope you shed a tear for them here. Unless you are aware that the elections are not meant to bring about a real change, or else they would be forbidden altogether, as one famous anarchist maintained.

Now, this small party sees itself as representing the interests of the lowest social classes of society (the homeless, the long-term unemployed persons, pensioners [I raise my hand! ;-)], addicts [I quickly take my hand back again!], victims of domestic [I wonder if my cat is reading this; he is often violently preventing my work for you on this computer!] and sexual violence) and is denouncing social evils, abuses, disgraces, like the pauperization of ever larger parts of the population and the increasing redistribution from the "bottom" to the "top". Its political aim is a fundamental reshaping of society.

Now I can name the beast: It is the APPD (Allgemeine Pogo-Partei Deutschlands). They are pogo anarchists, an international punk movement, but as far as Germany and in particular Hamburg is concerned, there is more to it. And you would be astonished to meet its brain trust. Doesn't look very punk to me (see this picture; the one in the middle is not part of the brain trust, it is the pensioner...). Voters and the elected always move in different circles of friends, didn't you know?

Now the scandal. Political parties are entitled in Germany to get free time for several TV spots on the two government chains (ARD and ZDF), financed by mean fees imposed on the electorate and non-electorate, by a typically German totalitarian organization called GEZ, a device that has now spread to other EU countries like the plague in less electronic times. The spot submitted by the APDD was refused. It could only be shown in a censored version, leaving not much of it. As a protest against this censorship, this site is letting you see the full uncensored version of the spot. You may not like it, it is not that much my kind of cake either, but if you are lucky to know German, read the excellent commentary of the spot I document in my German blog (the part in italic) and which the party had sent to the TV stations and uses in the temporary injunction it tries to obtain from the courts. The administrative court of Cologne will decide today whether the spot will be shown tonight at 10:28 PM on ARD. Here is the spot, uncensored:

for Windows Media Player:
http://www.butterbach.net/mirrors/appd/wahlspot.wmv
for Quicktime Player:
http://www.butterbach.net/mirrors/appd/wahlspot.mp4