Today in Germany: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
A German political party nears its end in parliament, a special post office opens, job cuts are announced, and more news from around Germany this Tuesday.
Left Party to dissolve own fraction in parliament
The Left Party (Die Linke) fraction in the Bundestag wants to decide on its dissolution on Tuesday and set a date for it. This comes in light of the resignation of MP Sahra Wagenknecht and nine other MPs from Die Linke. Without them, the party will lose its minimum size to be a fraction.
Two new parliamentary groups are now expected to emerge: the remaining 28 Linke MPs on the one hand and Wagenknecht and her supporters on the other.
Compared to a fraction, a group has fewer parliamentary rights and also receives less financial support from the state coffers.
A fraction getting dissolved during the current legislative period is new, and has previously only occurred after election defeats.
Storms strike southern Germany
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), the next couple of days will be exceptionally wet in southern Germany: meteorologists expect the Bavarian Alpine foothills in particular to be hit hard by the continuous rain that will last through Wednesday evening.
The Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg is also expected to receive a lot of rain according to current forecasts.
While between 60 and 90 litres per square metre are expected to fall in the Alpine foothills within three days, as much as 140 litres per square metre could fall in the upper Allgäu region and especially in the Allgäu Alps over the next 48 hours.
READ ALSO: Germany records rainiest October in over 20 years
Special Christmas post office opens
Six weeks before Christmas, Deutsche Post DHL's Christkind Post Office in Engelskirchen has opened its doors.
Many wish lists are already piling up at the post office; according to the post office, by Tuesday morning around 9,000 letters had already been received.
Together with 19 helpers, the 'Christkind' will be answering all letters with wishes from all over the world until December 20th.
Last year, there were almost 135,000 letters from 48 countries.
Engelskirchen is one of seven Deutsche Post DHL branches specifically for Christmas mail.
In addition to the Christ Child in Engelskirchen, children can also write to Father Christmas in Himmelpfort or St Nicholas in Nikolausdorf, for example.
Road rage is increasing in Germany
Road rage is increasing in Germany, according to a new study by O.trend which found that more than half of drivers have reacted with anger.
A full 44 percent of drivers have slammed the brakes on if they felt someone was tailgaiting them - which could be dangerous while travelling at 150 km/h on Germany's famous Autobahns.
READ ALSO: Eight things you never knew about the Germany Autobahn
Accident researcher Siegfried Brockmann explained that, in his opinion, there is a trend towards more aggressive behaviour in Germany overall - and that this is not just in traffic. This is shown by comparing with previous studies from 2016 and 2019.
Why is Greta Thunberg getting blasted in Germany?
Greta Thunberg has came under fire over her pro-Palestinian stance in Germany, where the local chapter of climate movement Fridays for Future had distanced itself from her views on the Israel-Hamas war.
Thunberg, wearing the Palestinian black and white scarf, had urged "ceasefire now" at a climate protest on Sunday in Amsterdam.
Luisa Neubauer, who heads the German chapter of Fridays for Future, recently told Die Zeit weekly of her regret over what she called Thunberg's one-sided view of the conflict.
"I'm disappointed that Greta Thunberg had nothing concrete to say about the Jewish victims of the massacre of October 7th," she said.
Germany's climate activist branch had also distanced itself from the international group over its pro-Palestinian posts on Instagram.
Neubauer said that Thunberg was "extraordinarily reflective and far-sighted" in the past but that the German climate branch will now have to examine "with whom we still have a basis to work based on common values".
Big German auto supplier slashes thousands of jobs
German auto supplier Continental said Monday it will cut thousands of jobs to reduce costs, at a time the sector is facing severe headwinds.
The company, which makes tyres and supplies components, said it had not decided on the exact number of job losses but it would be in the "mid four-digit range".
The move is part of plans to make cost savings of €400 million annually.
Manager Magazin previously reported that Continental plans to slash 5,500 jobs worldwide, including 1,000 in Germany.
The group's automotive unit in particular has been struggling to keep up with rivals, as the industry transitions to electric vehicles.
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Left Party to dissolve own fraction in parliament
The Left Party (Die Linke) fraction in the Bundestag wants to decide on its dissolution on Tuesday and set a date for it. This comes in light of the resignation of MP Sahra Wagenknecht and nine other MPs from Die Linke. Without them, the party will lose its minimum size to be a fraction.
Two new parliamentary groups are now expected to emerge: the remaining 28 Linke MPs on the one hand and Wagenknecht and her supporters on the other.
Compared to a fraction, a group has fewer parliamentary rights and also receives less financial support from the state coffers.
A fraction getting dissolved during the current legislative period is new, and has previously only occurred after election defeats.
Storms strike southern Germany
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), the next couple of days will be exceptionally wet in southern Germany: meteorologists expect the Bavarian Alpine foothills in particular to be hit hard by the continuous rain that will last through Wednesday evening.
The Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg is also expected to receive a lot of rain according to current forecasts.
While between 60 and 90 litres per square metre are expected to fall in the Alpine foothills within three days, as much as 140 litres per square metre could fall in the upper Allgäu region and especially in the Allgäu Alps over the next 48 hours.
READ ALSO: Germany records rainiest October in over 20 years
Special Christmas post office opens
Six weeks before Christmas, Deutsche Post DHL's Christkind Post Office in Engelskirchen has opened its doors.
Many wish lists are already piling up at the post office; according to the post office, by Tuesday morning around 9,000 letters had already been received.
Together with 19 helpers, the 'Christkind' will be answering all letters with wishes from all over the world until December 20th.
Last year, there were almost 135,000 letters from 48 countries.
Engelskirchen is one of seven Deutsche Post DHL branches specifically for Christmas mail.
In addition to the Christ Child in Engelskirchen, children can also write to Father Christmas in Himmelpfort or St Nicholas in Nikolausdorf, for example.
Road rage is increasing in Germany
Road rage is increasing in Germany, according to a new study by O.trend which found that more than half of drivers have reacted with anger.
A full 44 percent of drivers have slammed the brakes on if they felt someone was tailgaiting them - which could be dangerous while travelling at 150 km/h on Germany's famous Autobahns.
READ ALSO: Eight things you never knew about the Germany Autobahn
Accident researcher Siegfried Brockmann explained that, in his opinion, there is a trend towards more aggressive behaviour in Germany overall - and that this is not just in traffic. This is shown by comparing with previous studies from 2016 and 2019.
Why is Greta Thunberg getting blasted in Germany?
Greta Thunberg has came under fire over her pro-Palestinian stance in Germany, where the local chapter of climate movement Fridays for Future had distanced itself from her views on the Israel-Hamas war.
Thunberg, wearing the Palestinian black and white scarf, had urged "ceasefire now" at a climate protest on Sunday in Amsterdam.
Luisa Neubauer, who heads the German chapter of Fridays for Future, recently told Die Zeit weekly of her regret over what she called Thunberg's one-sided view of the conflict.
"I'm disappointed that Greta Thunberg had nothing concrete to say about the Jewish victims of the massacre of October 7th," she said.
Germany's climate activist branch had also distanced itself from the international group over its pro-Palestinian posts on Instagram.
Neubauer said that Thunberg was "extraordinarily reflective and far-sighted" in the past but that the German climate branch will now have to examine "with whom we still have a basis to work based on common values".
Big German auto supplier slashes thousands of jobs
German auto supplier Continental said Monday it will cut thousands of jobs to reduce costs, at a time the sector is facing severe headwinds.
The company, which makes tyres and supplies components, said it had not decided on the exact number of job losses but it would be in the "mid four-digit range".
The move is part of plans to make cost savings of €400 million annually.
Manager Magazin previously reported that Continental plans to slash 5,500 jobs worldwide, including 1,000 in Germany.
The group's automotive unit in particular has been struggling to keep up with rivals, as the industry transitions to electric vehicles.
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