The SPD’s victory, by a whisker, in the Bundestag elections once again placed the socialists in a pivotal position in Germman politics. They have not been in that role since the end of Gerhard Schroeder’s term as chancellor. The reforms he introduced in the labour market had till now blocked them out. Yet the same reforms laid the foundations for the economic recovery that was later credited to Merkel!
However being in the pivotal role today gives much less political leverage than it did sixteen years ago. The need to negotiate a three-way (possibly more) coalition did not then arise, and this in a country which has long been run by coalitions: but they mostly used to consist of two parties.
According to some reports, the internal structures of the SPD have lately weakened. The risk is that with the compromises that will have to be accepted if a new government is going to be stitched together, the socialists will not have enough leeway to sustain the popularity they have regained; and its fragility could soon be demonstrated.
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INFLATION
Indicators pointing to price rises have continued to blink. Almost all experts have continued to claim that many of the factors driving rises were/are temporary. Perhaps those who claimed this most clearly were spokespersons of the European Central Bank. For them, the issue is related to the policies followed by the ECB in massively buying up government bonds in order to sustain the European economy.
Such interventions are usually expected to generate inflation since they generate huge stocks of ready cash. This has failed to happen except in recent weeks, when it began to look as if at last, the Covid-19 pandemic was being rolled back.
The debate is still being carried out – is it inflation for the short run, or will price rises continue to climb?
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AIRPLANE NOISE
One day last week, from up high came the quite loud noises of an airplane or two flying low, or so it seemed. In fact they were the planes of the British airforce group the Red Arrows, making preparations for the air shows they give.
The noise sounded strange but at the same time, very familiar. In past years I’ve been boarding planes and visiting airports practically every week, but I could not recall having heard such noises. Even less so in Malta, even close to the airport. So why did it feel like I had heard this noise before and not just once?
Then the penny dropped. As a young boy... and people of my generation as well, and even those next to us down the generational ladder... we would frequently hear the screeching of planes in the sky hurrying to land, or taking off. They would be military planes attached to the Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons stationed in the islands.
Their flights and their presence formed part of the character of Maltese life then. Those who were born round about the beginning of the 1970s will have no remembrance at all of how military planes make noise.