RE: The Speech
I agree with you, US is a country of extreme contrast even in politics both inner and outer, maybe that is a reason why we see them more than we see ourselves. I believe every country and politic of each country has its own good and bad side.
Often in politics we see people who from beginning on decided to go to politics, like for example in UK Boris Johnson and David Cameron both graduated from Oxford and took part in debating club, such universities like Oxford and Cambridge are well known for that.
As to German election, it is a bit different people vote for Party and then party will choose their leader, it was of course a lucky turn for Angie that CDU had majority from 2005-21 and so she was chosen.
Whatever Party will come to power in Germany I hope that not AfD, it was concerning to see that they got more % recently but with Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht now seems everything slightly shifted to left :)
Didn't they also visit Eton? If it was just the universities it would be one thing, but then there's the whole notion of having elite boarding schools on top of that. Wouldn't be surprised if there was some Ivy League equivalent for kindergardens somewhere.
Also I remember some supposed scandal reminisant of Black Mirror, involving David Cameron and a pig's head. It really does seem like they're potty training sociopaths for a life of blackmail and hidden agendas. It just is what it is, I guess.
I know technically we Germans vote for parties, but essentially it's still a popularity contest. The Americans for that matter at least have their primaries with debates and all that jazz, where registered voters decide upon the candidates (at least in theory – neverminding thing like superdelegates). Our parties just announce their candidates and the average German doesn't have say in it, or not in terms of them following a formal protocol. Same in context of the coalition making, unless they're feeling generous and ask their registered base (or rather their own version of superdelegates).
Sarhra Wagenknecht seems much preferable to AfD. In some way it just seems like the culmination of the SPD consistently refusing to reform, starting way back when disgruntled party members created the WASG. And they've been bleeding voters ever since. The whole absorbtion of said WASG by the PDS into the LINKE was more or less just a detour. Either way I think the SPD destroyed itself for a few breadcrumps of power being the poodle of the CDU during the era of the big coalition. Well, instead of actually reforming itself.
I actually needed to check again about Cameron and Johnson, seems they both met and studied in Eton but then later in Balliol College of Oxford Uni, that is why I was thinking about Oxford, because I remember the famous photo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_Bullingdon_Club_photograph
That was all in newspaper at the time of Brexit and also it is on special board of graduates of Oxford. Anyhow, the politicians often met long ago their political carrier. I remember that scandal with Cameron, there is also a movie about that, can't believe that sometimes such things happening. Often journalist can dig out such nasty stuff, it is quite bad here with press.
Politic is a hard job in any country, I never envy them but someone has to do it.
Yeah, the british press seems to be something else. We've got some rags but not that hungry heyena type of gutter press. Might be an extension of british banter culture, in a weird way.
Politics is a hard job, no doubt about that. You must be crazy to volunteer for that, which seems to be part of the issue. Makes me think of The Thick of It, especially in context of the UK.