Die PARTEI hat immer recht
July 31, 2014 10:27 AM   Subscribe

On the 25th of May, 2014, Martin Sonneborn of Die PARTEI became the first member of his party to enter the EU parliament.

Currently using the slogan, "Inhalte überwunden" or "Overcome substance", the Partei für Arbeit, Rechtstaat, Tierschutz, Elitenförderung und basisdemokratische Initiative (Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Initiatives) was founded in 2004 by the staff of Titanic, a satire magizine.

With the position, "Europe, we don't really care" (Europa ist uns egal) and the motto, "Ja zu Europa, Nein zu Europa", die PARTEI barely campaigned in the EU elections, nontheless receiving 0.9% of the vote and their first seat.

Recent highlights:

From the 2013 federal election, their iDemo before the Brandenburg Gate, where they parroted, per their claims of being a content-free populist party, slogans sent to them over the internet in real time.

Their ad spot on family politics, 2013 (NSFW, but German not required)
posted by frimble (11 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I haven't followed fringe politics for a while. How does their platform compare to that of the lizard people?
posted by filthy light thief at 10:33 AM on July 31, 2014


German Satire Magazine Makes Inroads Into Understanding Humor

(Seriously, though, I love this sort of thing.)
posted by Navelgazer at 10:48 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]


This is great. Mild nitpick:

> "Europe, we don't really care" (Europa ist uns egal)

I'm pretty sure Europa ist uns egal means "We don't care about Europe."
posted by languagehat at 11:20 AM on July 31, 2014


That TV ad (last link) is pretty awesome: "Deeper ... deeper ... deeper ... deeper ... die Partei ..."
posted by sour cream at 11:22 AM on July 31, 2014


Yeah, "We don't care about Europe" is closer. I was trying and failing to find a way to say, "We have no strong opinion about Europe", which is the position they staked out for the EU elections, claiming that it would distinguish them from the pro- and anti-Europe parties, while speaking to 72% of voters.
posted by frimble at 11:43 AM on July 31, 2014


I'm pretty sure Europa ist uns egal means "We don't care about Europe."

A more literal translation would be "Europe: it's all the same to us", but it does carry a heavy meaning load toward "we don't care".
posted by hippybear at 11:54 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]


It sounds like they've taken a leaf out of the playbook of Icelandic comedian Jón Gnarr's Bestuflokkurínn (Best Party), who governed Reykjavík for four years, after getting elected as an absurdist anti-politics party.

There's a piece on Gnarr here; he also has a memoir out (titled in English “Gnarr! How I Became Mayor Of A Large City In Iceland And Changed The World”, though originally published in German).
posted by acb at 12:20 PM on July 31, 2014


Am I the only one who feels vaguely uncomfortable about a political party whose stance is about mockery and voter apathy actually gaining any power?
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:27 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]


Die, Party Hat!! I'm rich!


"Auf mit dem auld und im mit die zu", I always say.
posted by Herodios at 12:29 PM on July 31, 2014


"Am I the only one who feels vaguely uncomfortable about a political party whose stance is about mockery and voter apathy actually gaining any power?"

I think right now, that's basically the current raison d'etre of the Partei.

Not that it's working, as people generally don't care that much about the EU parliament and after the elections people worried more about the success of the AfD.

The far-right NPD also got one seat, as did the pirates, the "animal welfare party" and the "family party".
posted by pseudocode at 3:13 AM on August 1, 2014


I'm still voting Moderate Progress Within The Bounds of The Law.
posted by Abiezer at 5:06 AM on August 1, 2014


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