Scrapbook for August

28.08.2026 – Germany: nothing ever changes

September is an election month in Germany. Not the high drama of federal elections, in which nothing ever changes, but the low drama of state and municipal elections, in which nothing also ditto ditto. On 6 September comes a state election in Sachsen-Anhalt (ex DDR), then on 13 September there is a municipal election in Niedersachsen (ex BRD), then on 20 September a local election in Berlin (ex DDR/BRD), then finally on 20 September a state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (ex DDR).

There is much hyperventilation in the German media about the election in Sachsen-Anhalt, where the AfD is riding very high in the polls. It is conceivable that the AfD might even be the strongest party in the state after the election, if they manage to overwhelm all the crackpot parties which might just manage to stay in contention (>5% of the vote).

As readers of this website already know: it doesn't matter, nothing will change. In the very unlikely event that the AFD manages to become the party of government in the state, nothing worth mentioning will happen since the state is engulfed in the German Federation, which in turn is engulfed in the European Union.

The AFD candidate for the State President is a young, personable chap called Ulrich Siegmund. He recently received a major boost when the mad lefties of Der Spiegel branded him on their front cover as 'the most dangerous man in Germany'. Demonstrating his cool instincts, Siegmund signed copies of the magazine – the sort of publicity you could not pay for. Despite the many attempts to smear him with this or that, according to the polls he is doing a grand job mobilising support.

But even if he wins outright, he and the AfD will face a Trump Derangement Syndrome style barrage of hate, their fiat after all only runs to a small state in economic decline and no meaningful action will be allowed to succeed. We might call this 'Firewall 2.0'. It is perfectly possible that the other fifteen states of the Federal Republic will make political life difficult for Sachsen-Anhalt. This will not be difficult to do – since reunification in 1990 the Wessies have largely lost interest in their former Ossie cousins. If Germany continues on its present economic and social course, in five years, when the next election in Sachsen-Anhalt is due, quite a lot may have changed. Or perhaps not.

07.08.2026 – Hiring guidelines

University of Cambridge please take note. To avoid disappointment when hiring new professors, this is how to do it.

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, 'One Leg Too Few', from 'Beyond the Fringe', 1964.