Germany moving more to the right is good

Last Sunday night, September 24, I joined Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) officials and other friends in watching WAHL2017 live on tv, Germany's Bundestag/Parliamentary elections, at the German Club in Makati City. The event was jointly organized by the four German political foundations in Manila -- Konrad Adenauer (KAF, affiliated with CDU), Hans Seidell (HSF, also affiliated with CDU/CSU), Friedrich Ebertt (FES, affiliated with SPD), and FNF (affiliated with FDP).

Hours before the official start of elections in Germany, this was among the forecasted results.

http://notrickszone.com/2017/09/24/germany-expected-to-shift-to-the-right-in-todays-national-elections-green-energies-to-take-back-seat/#sthash.gT1rlwGa.dpbs

Actual results were:

CDU/CSU center right – 33.0%

SPD socialist – 20.5

Left – 9.1

FDP free democrats – 10.7

Greens – 8.9

AfD hard right – 12.6

Others– 5.0

No Tricks Zone blog owner Pierre Gosselin wrote,

"The big winners are the business-friendly libertarian FDP Free Democrats and the right wing AfD.... The shift to the right means that the brakes are likely going to be put on the Energiewende and on efforts “to rescue the climate”. FDP leader Christian Lindner has been a vocal opponent to onshore wind park approvals in rural areas and forests and has also been critical of the subsidies paid out to green energies... The Greens have said they will accept being a coalition partner only if the CDU agrees to end coal power by 2030, a condition that hopefully the FDP will refuse."

-- http://notrickszone.com/2017/09/24/germany-shifts-to-the-right-may-mean-significant-slowdown-for-countrys-green-energies/#sthash.nXusXhTS.OkUEKNpC.dpbs

This is from The Economist, September 25:

"the “Germany for optimists” is the more accurate. The election result is unsettling on several fronts, deeply so where the AfD is concerned. But much of Germany’s pre-election tranquility was illusory anyway. The anger had been building for years; the AfD’s success has just brought it to the surface, where perhaps it can even be understood and addressed. Questions that were going unanswered, tensions that were going unconfronted, now brook no oversight."

FDP and AfD as net gainers, the latter especially (first joined the elections just 4 years ago and got 4.8%, this year got 12.6%). FDP is pro-business, pro-liberalization, pro-energy realism. AfD is wild right and definitely anti-left. Germany is indeed moving right, which is the right thing to do. The lefties -- SPD, Greens, Linke/left -- are transitioning towards becoming marginal parties in the near future.

Thanks to Wolfgang Heinze, FNF PH Country Director for inviting me that night. He's speaking here, introducing FNF and its main advocacies and activities in the Philippines.

 I enjoyed German sausage, other food, plus beer that night. Thanks again to FNF for the invite.

Whisky and Liberty, Jules Maaten's farewell party

Last night, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) Philippines Country Director Jules Maaten conducted and hosted a "whisky workshop". My first time to attend such kind of activity as I am a barbarian when it comes to some high end drinks, European whisky brands. It also served as Jules' farewell party to some friends. To my right here will be his successor, incoming Country Director Wolfgang BL Heinze. 

I talked to Eva, Jules' wife, she said she wished they won't leave the Philippines because of so many friends they have developed the past 6 years (though it seemed like 3-4 years ago when Jules came here to replace Siggi Herzog who became a Regional Director of FNF). But she's looking forward to a new adventure, new friends in S. Africa, Jules will be overseeing FNF's work in several countries south of that continent, many of which are really economically undeveloped and politically repressed. Injecting the philosophy of economic freedom and individual liberty in the  minds of the people and politicians there will be a tough job.

Another pose. L for Leni Robredo and the Liberal Party (LP).

The other guests that night, mostly Europeans, have already left when this group photo was taken. The workshop consisted of Jules discussing each bottle, their  properties and taste, where they are produced, then people taste it, fellowship. After about 10 minutes, Jules calls the crowd again  to discuss the next bottle.

I think this is the "amoy sapatos" whisky that Jules discussed.

I tasted almost all of them, in small quantities + water. Being a non-whisky drinker, I found their taste and smell ranging from strong to exotic to weird. Especially the "amoy riot" or smelling like burned tires on the road. :-) 

Later I shifted back to beer. Good that Jules has a stock of San Miguel pilse at the fridge. Below, Mikael de Lara and Samuel's daughter leading the guitars and songs. U2's "with or without you", others.

Before leaving the place, almost 12 midnight, I gave an unsolicited, impromptu speech discussing the role of FNF in general, and Jules in particular, in my field -- the free market think tanks and NGOs in Asia through the Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia. FNF is known more for helping liberal and democratic political parties like the LP via the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD).

Nice food, including different types of cheese, drinks, singing, impromptu concert by Noel Cabangon, etc. Thanks again Jules.

Photos mostly from Bing Salvador. Thanks Mikael for the ride.

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See also:
FNF Philippines and Liberal Challenges 2013-2016, June 14, 2013Jules Maaten's Lecture on Liberalism, May 11, 2014