Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 4 June 2019
Future in doubt for Merkel's German govt after ally quits

By GEIR MOULSON become notorious for in-
BERLIN (AP) — German fighting. First, a spat within
Chancellor Angela Merkel Merkel's own bloc over
says she won't run for a fifth migration. Then an argu-
term, but the departure ment erupted over the fu-
of a top ally in her often- ture of the domestic spy
cantankerous coalition has chief, who had appeared
raised new doubts about to downplay far-right vio-
whether her government lence against migrants.
will even survive until the More recently the two sides
end of her current term in have tussled over Social
2021. Democratic demands for
Here's a look at the political more generous pensions for
turmoil in Germany right low earners.
now: Support for both coalition
WHAT THE EUROPEAN PAR- partners has fallen, with the
LIAMENT VOTE WROUGHT Greens in particular ben-
Merkel, Germany's leader efiting from general discon-
since 2005, has run the tent and a perception that
country for most of her ten- the government isn't acting
ure in a "grand coalition" of German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to media prior to a special closed meeting of her decisively enough to fight
her center-right Union bloc Christian Democratic Union at the party's headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, June 2, 2019. climate change.
and the center-left Social Associated Press ___
Democrats. Those tradi- WHY DOES IT MATTER?
tionally were Germany's dropping to third behind leader and head of their ernment took office in If the Social Democrats
biggest parties but their Merkel's conservative bloc parliamentary group, pav- March 2018, nearly six decide that they want to
support has eroded, par- and the environmentalist ing the way for what could months after a national leave the coalition, that
ticularly that of the Social Greens for their worst post- be prolonged uncertainty election. The Social Demo- would likely lead to an
Democrats. World War II performance about the government's fu- crats initially vowed to go early election, which would
On May 26, the center-left in a nationwide vote. ture. into opposition after a poor end Merkel's nearly 14-year
Social Democrats had a Andrea Nahles announced ___ election result, but reluc- reign. Merkel's bloc alone
disastrous result in the Euro- her resignation Sunday HOW DID WE GET HERE? tantly reconsidered. is far from having a parlia-
pean Parliament election, as the Social Democrats' Merkel's fourth-term gov- The coalition has since mentary majority.q

Trudeau: Violence against indigenous women often ignored

TORONTO (AP) — Cana- system does not work for
dian Prime Minister Jus- indigenous people. "They
tin Trudeau said Monday don't matter when they go
the disappearances and through that system," Au-
deaths of indigenous wom- dette said.
en in Canada have too of- Audette said she was dis-
ten been treated as a low appointed Trudeau didn't
priority or ignored and he use the word "genocide,"
promised a national action and said, "I was hoping he
plan to end the problem. would have that courage."
Trudeau was responding But chief inquiry commis-
to an official inquiry report sioner Marion Buller said
issued Monday after in- they didn't need Trudeau
terviews with 2,380 family to use the word.
members and experts that "We often think of geno-
said the problem was so se- cide as the holocaust and
rious it amounts to a "geno- the killings in Africa and
cide." elsewhere and of course
"Time and again, we have that is genocide, and of
heard of their disappear- course that is tragedy, but
ance, violence, or even that type of genocide we
death being labelled low have in Canada is ... death
priority or ignored," Trudeau Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the closing ceremony for the National Inquiry by a million paper cuts for
said. "It is absolutely unac- into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Canada, Monday, June 3, generations," Buller said.
ceptable. And it must end." 2019. The report said police and
A Royal Canadian Mount- Associated Press the justice system need
ed Police report before the to acknowledge that the
inquiry was formed found That study reviewed cas- 164 were missing and 1,017 Trudeau said. "But we will historical and current re-
that while indigenous es from 1980 to 2013 and murdered. fail you no longer." lationship with Indigenous
women represent about found 1,181 First Natons "To the missing and mur- Michèle Audette, one of people has been largely
4.3 percent of the total fe- women fell into the miss- dered Indigenous women the commissioners of the defined by "colonialism,
male population, they ac- ing or murdered category and girls of Canada, to inquiry, said they heard racism, bias, discrimination,
count for 16 percent of all — almost double earlier es- their families, and to survi- from women and family and fundamental cultural
female homicide victims. timates. Of those women, vors — We have failed you" members that the justice and societal differences."q