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world news Diaranson 27 october 2021

Dismissed: Germany’s Merkel becomes caretaker chancellor

(AP) — Angela Merkel Union bloc, has been a of German society, the new
took a step closer to po- member of the Bundestag Bundestag has become more
litical retirement Tuesday since 2009. The 53-year-old diverse, with more immi-
after receiving her formal was a deputy leader of her grant lawmakers and younger
dismissal certificate from party’s parliamentary group members.
the post of chancellor after in the last parliament and its
16 years in office, though spokesperson on health, edu- She vowed to protect the
she will lead a caretaker cation and research. lower house against hatred
government until her suc- and promised, “I will defend
cessor is sworn in. Bas told fellow lawmakers democracy against its en-
that she would work for fair- emies.”
Hours earlier, Merkel at- er representation of women
tended the opening session of in parliament. She is only The three parties that hope
Germany’s new parliament the third woman to head the to form Germany’s new
in Berlin, taking a seat in the Bundestag since its creation government said last week
VIP gallery as the recently in 1949. they aim to have the coun- country’s political landscape times, particularly during her
elected lawmakers met for try’s next chancellor in place has fragmented, meaning final four-year term. He cited
the first time. Merkel, who “The responsibility has by far in early December, but ac- that elections rarely produce the coronavirus pandemic,
first won a seat in the Bunde- not been spread fairly on all knowledged that they face a parliamentary majorities for Britain’s departure from the
stag 31 years ago, did not run shoulders,” she said. complex task. traditional allies. European Union and a U.S.
again in the Sept. 26 election. government under President
While the Bundestag has The Social Democrats, en- If the negotiations succeed, Donald Trump that he said
Lawmakers elected Baerbal more female members fol- vironmentalist Greens and the new government will “had little to no interest in
Bas, a member of the center- lowing last month’s election, pro-business Free Democrats send Merkel’s center-right the international order and
left Social Democratic Party, women are still a long way opened formal coalition talks Union bloc into opposition trans-Atlantic partnership.”
as speaker of the 736-mem- from reaching parity in the following a preliminary deal after 16 years at the helm.
ber lower house. She suc- national legislature. More earlier this month, which set Her likely successor would Merkel last week received a
ceeds Wolfgang Schaeuble, a than a third, or 34.7%, of the out their priorities but left be Olaf Scholz of the Social warm farewell from fellow
79-year-old conservative and new lawmakers are women many open questions. Democrats, her vice chancel- European Union leaders and
former finance and interior compared to 31.4% in the lor and finance minister since former U.S. President Barack
minister, who was also the previous parliament, accord- German coalition talks are an 2018. Obama. Her final weeks as
longest-serving member of ing to the German news elaborate affair, producing an caretaker include represent-
the last parliament, having agency dpa. agreement that sets out de- Handing Merkel her dismiss- ing Germany as the G-20
first been elected in 1972. tails of the government’s pro- al certificate, German Presi- meeting in Italy and next
Bas emphasized that even gram for its four-year term. dent Frank-Walter Steinmei- week’s U.N. climate confer-
Bas, whose party narrowly though parliament does not They have tended to get er thanked her for steering ence in Glasgow.
beat Merkel’s center-right yet reflect the full diversity longer over the years as the the country through difficult

Poland plans ‘radical’ strengthening of its military

(AP) — Poland’s ruling he gave included neighboring ed as one of the few alliance form party. “Who purged the net on Tuesday, among them
party leader presented “Russia’s imperial ambitions” members that invest at least army of generals, colonels new appointees to head the
plans Tuesday for a bill to and the hybrid warfare be- 2% of its GDP in defense. and majors? Who stopped the climate ministry, the agricul-
“defend the fatherland,” ing waged by Belarus against modernization of the Polish ture ministry and the minis-
legislation he said is aimed Poland and other European Kaczynski said, speaking army?” try of technology and devel-
at “radically” strength- Union nations using mi- alongside Defense Minister opment. Some observers said
ening the military as the grants. Mariusz Blaszczak, that he The plan to strengthen the the changes involve the de-
country faces migration believed the changes would army comes as Poland faces partures of some Morawiecki
pressure from its eastern “If we want to avoid the also benefit NATO. heavy migration pressure allies.
neighbor Belarus. worst, that is war, we have to from Belarus. Warsaw ac-
act according to the old rule: Kaczynski and Blaszczak pre- cuses the Belarusian regime Poland has reacted to the
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who ‘If you want peace, prepare sented a plan to increase the of President Alexander Lu- migrant crisis by declaring
holds the position of deputy for war,’” Kaczynski said at a defense budget further and kashenko of encouraging a state of emergency along
prime minister but is undis- news conference in Warsaw. to more than double the size migrants from the Mideast, the border with Belarus. It
putedly the most powerful of the military to 250,000 sol- Africa and elsewhere to seek has also been fortifying the
politician in Poland, said the He argued that, as a coun- diers, up from the current entry to the EU through Po- border with razor wire and
bill is needed due to a dete- try which lies on the eastern 110,000. The changes do not land. has deployed soldiers to help
riorating international situa- flank of the European Union involve a reinstatement of border guards. The govern-
tion and also to Poland’s geo- and NATO, Poland must compulsory military service. It also comes as Poland finds ment also plans to construct a
political location. Examples have a serious deterrent force itself increasingly at odds high permanent barrier with
and the “ability to effectively Kaczynski also said Poland with its EU partners, with a motion sensors.
defend itself for a long time hopes to strengthen its forc- conflict over changes to Pol-
on its own.” es by buying U.S.-produced ish courts — which the EU Polish border guards have
military equipment but sees as an attack on judicial also been pushing migrants
He noted NATO decisions would also look at European- independence — escalating back across the border, in-
take time to implement. made weapons. this month. Prime Minister cluding some families with
Mateusz Morawiecki told the children. A new Polish law
The bill, which still needs ap- Some opposition lawmak- Financial Times in comments took effect Tuesday that le-
proval from parliament and ers criticized the plans, not- published Monday that if the galizes the pushbacks.
the president, is aimed at re- ing that they come from the EU withholds funds to Po-
placing an existing one from ruling Law and Justice party, land over rule of law issues, it Human rights officials have
1967. At that time Poland was which they said repeatedly would be like starting World criticized Poland’s state of
a member of Warsaw Pact has weakened the military. War III. emergency while the UN
eastern military alliance, un- refugee agency has said that
der Moscow’s control. Since “It doesn’t look good,” said In a separate political devel- the new legislation “under-
1999 it has been a member of Cezary Tomczyk, a lawmaker opment, Morawiecki an- mines the fundamental right
NATO, and is regularly cit- with the centrist Civic Plat- nounced changes to his Cabi- to seek asylum.”