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German opposition mistakes Georgian palace for the Bundestag

Germany's opposition conservatives faced mockery Wednesday after confusing the German parliament and a Georgian palace in a video unveiling their new logo.

Published: 20 September 2023 16:10 CEST
The German conservative CDU's new logo.
The German conservative CDU's new logo. TPhoto: picture alliance/dpa | Kay Nietfeld

Instead of the Bundestag’s spherical dome, former chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU used an image of the more egg-shaped cupola above the Ceremonial Palace in Tbilisi, the former residence of the Georgian president.

Social media users soon spotted the slip in the glossy launch video shared by the party on Tuesday.

The conservatives acknowledged their mistake, thanking the online community for “numerous” posts pointing out the error.

“We had a lot of domes to choose from and have now picked the only right one,” the CDU said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The embarrassed mea culpa was posted alongside images of the US Capitol and a glass cake cloche for comparison with the German and Georgian domes.

The CDU’s new logo, three rising bars in the colours of the German flag, similar to a mobile phone’s signal-strength icon, is meant to evoke “renewal”.

The party also added two new shades of blue to their visual palette, named after former chancellor Konrad Adenauer’s home on the banks of the Rhine and his favourite holiday spot on Italy’s Lake Como.

The CDU has been looking to rediscover its momentum ahead of upcoming elections and refresh its sometimes stuffy image.

Despite leading in the polls nationally, the party has come under increasing pressure from the surging far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The AfD also uses light blue in their campaign materials, a colour which is generally used to show their support on electoral maps and charts.

The CDU meanwhile are shown in black — a reference to the Christian Democrats’ historic ties to the dark cloth of the clergy.

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POLITICS

Scholz calls on coalition to ‘pull ourselves together’

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday called on his fractious governing coalition to "pull ourselves together" following a dismal showing in EU parliament elections last week.

Published: 16 June 2024 08:38 CEST
Scholz calls on coalition to 'pull ourselves together'

In power since the end of 2021, the three parties in government — Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the liberal FDP — have been at loggerheads on a wide range of issues including climate measures and budget spending.

“I think that this is one of the entirely justified criticisms of many citizens, namely that there is too much debate” within the coalition, Scholz told German television channel ZDF on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.

“We need to pull ourselves together and stick together to reach agreements,” he added.

“The people have the right to demand that things change,” Scholz told public broadcaster ARD.

The three parties in the coalition suffered a severe defeat in the European elections, with the SPD achieving its worst result in a national election since 1949.

Subsequently, Scholz has faced mounting criticism within his own party.

On Saturday, however, Scholz told ZDF and ARD that he was “sure” that he would be the SPD’s next candidate for the chancellorship in the parliamentary elections scheduled for autumn 2025.

In the very short term, a new test awaits the coalition, which must reach an agreement on the 2025 budget by the beginning of July.

The FDP’s finance minister is opposed to any exceptions to the rules limiting debt and to any tax increases.

On the other hand, the SPD and the Greens are opposed to cuts in social welfare or climate protection.

The debate is also focused on increasing the resources allocated to the German army.

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