Episode 139 - Crisis of Representation

This week, Roqayah and Kumars are rejoined by Julia Damphouse and Loren Balhorn, who were last on the show together in 2017 and are back to give us a rundown of the recent European Parliament elections and a German politics update. Julia is a Canadian student in Berlin, a member of the German Left Party die Linke, and the Reading Group Coordinator at Jacobin. Loren is an American member of die Linke also based in Berlin, a contributing editor at Jacobin and a founding editor of Ada Magazin, Jacobin’s German-language sister magazine. After providing some context the European Union’s legislative body, Julia and Loren explain the main voting blocs in the European Parliament, where they fall on the political spectrum and who the big winners and losers were this time around. The focus then turns to Germany as Loren and Julia discuss the unprecedented rise of the German Green Party, the failure of traditional German social democracy, how the far-right Alternative for Germany is dictating the national agenda, and the anti-immigrant triangulation of the Left Party’s Sahra Wagenknecht. You can follow Julia on Twitter @remarksist and Loren @fraubalhorn. If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!