Germany needs a new Trump strategy.

[randahl@mastodon.social]

Germany needs a new Trump strategy.

In 2025, German car manufacturer Volkswagen lost 8 percent of their car exports due to Trump tariffs, reports Danish Radio P1.

Germany tried speaking softly to Trump, and what did they get this week? More Trump tariffs.

Pleasing a bully NEVER works. It is time to show Trump that we are united and strong, and his attacks will cost him dearly.

Only then will he look for someone else to harass.

As the Canadians say: Elbows up!

️

[catawu@mastodon.social]

@randahl Appeasement never makes any of them safe. It only proves they are exploitable.

[masek@infosec.exchange]

@randahl Our chancellor has no strategy beyond his next lunch. Believe me, it is that bad.

All that was on his mind was to wipe out the shame of being sidelined by Angela Merkel an become chancellor. He has never spent a single CPU cycle on what to do once he got there.

It is obvious that cooperation with Trump just moves the goalpost for the next demand.

[individual8@mastodon.social]

@randahl Is also good health advice. Accommodating bullies is never as fulfilling as confronting them with strength.

[brynawel@mastodon.social]

@randahl

With that Blackrock-Stooge we currently have as a chancellor, I doubt there will be enough of a backbone to even raise the voices.

I am ready to be surprised, though. Anytime now, Mr Merz! Anytime!

[johan_barelds@mastodon.nl]

@randahl
I find it hard to comprehend that this insight only emerges now.
And it seems that even now not all European leaders / countries are aware of the situation and how to proper respond to it.
It makes me feel that we have some very incompetent leaders in Europe.

[cejjacobs@mastodon.social]

@randahl it would not surprise me that pressure from exactly German automakers has caused the withdrawal of German soldiers from the Greenland mission. Not at all “planned to last only two days”, but caving in to T’s pressure propaganda…

[thorsten4future@climatejustice.social]

@randahl Elbows Up does not work if your current chancellor is a wimp and with him his whole government.
Ad what makes it even worse is, that those figures think no further than short term corporate profits.

We're a bit stuck and need yet to find a way out.

And Europe is not in its best shape either.

[jasperb@mastodon.social]

@randahl The CDU itself is devided between trumpists and traditional concervativest, therefore I doubt that this coaltion will be able to draw the right conclusions. Right now they are setting up palantir in various federal states, attacking the right of private communication and ordering US weapons and microsoft software for the German army. The radicalisation of the German concervatives is what brought Merz himself to the top. The coming weeks and month will be interesting!

[vgoller@nrw.social]

@randahl German here, my comment: elbows up!

[dataknightmare@mastodon.xyz]

@randahl
we only need to repeal Art. 6, Directive 2001/29/EC and open the floods to anyone willing to sell jailbreaking/format translating tools.
This would cost Big Tech their stupid monopoly and would give customers actual property of what they pay (as opposed to a gracious, repalable right of use)

[dataknightmare@mastodon.xyz]

@randahl and yes, Merz is blatantly spineless

[gardengeek@mstdn.social]

@randahl

>Pleasing a bully NEVER works.

yes, it's weird how many adults do not understand this. who think, okay well all he wants is my lunch money, this one last time, okay.

as someone in the US, I BEG people: please stand up to him. cut off the US if need be.
Edit, to add: And it need be! sever ties, cut off trade and tourism, consider us a pariah state because we are. It pains me to say this actually, but it's true.

[canleaf@mastodon.social]

@randahl Ellenbogen Hoch endlich.

[exxo@nrw.social]

@randahl Well, last time I've heard the industry was pushing into a fast settlement... this morning I've heard in Deutschlandfunk that the companies are willing to take losses because they also don't believe in appeasement any more.

And also the previous settlement was not good for the German economy: Although then there were no tariffs, American companies hesitated to buy German machines because they were unsure if there would be tariffs when their order arrives.

[canleaf@mastodon.social]

@randahl Unterstützt endlich Kanada und Dänemark. Bucht keine Reisen nach New York.

[ilka4you@mastodon.social]

@randahl 100% agreed! Unfortunately they have the weakest chancellor since 1949, and he is a Felon 47 fan boy on top. This fan clan behavior is dangerous and influencing Europe in a very dangerous direction. I really trust in France and Poland to be the voices of reason and they have the intelligence and backbone to be - I hope, really hope they guide the other countries, pull them together, especially GER as they are the head of the economic power and thus very powerful.

[orlaya@mstdn.social]

@randahl

Merz is a “Lauch” (=leek).
And some of his CDU colleagues have an extremely foolish weakness for Trump.

Merkel would have known much better how to play this power game.