German visa policy sparks furore

Growing scandal story here

Can somebody with a decent grip on German politics explain how this differs from Blunkett in the UK.
If Fischer has accepted political responsibility why doesn't he fall on his sword?

[Link corrected by Admin]

Well if it turns out (as is probable) that he knew about it since 2003, if not since 2002, he might well have to.
Which would be a disaster for SPD/Bündnis 90 as he really is one of the few popular politicians about. Joschka gets voters to the polls, he is a "Sympathieträger". He's just too important for the Red/Green coalition to lose, especially this near to a state election in NRW.
Spiegel article (in German)
He isn't expected to resign though, Joschka wears his flaws pretty openly (he likes good wine and a wedding - usually his own) which makes him human. And he is likeable so people will forgive him a lot.

a man who marries more often than most people use public transport hasn't realy got any sense of the world apart from self-pleasure, he has the morality of a scoundrel, i dont think this will affect him what so ever. this is germany and people dont throw mud at each other anymore, there's also rumours of certain spd politians being heavily involved in giving nato secrets to the stasi, what will happen. nada

As i have often said to my German friends we don't live in a democracy, we live in in an Oligarchy.

Fischer is ultimately responsible for the actions of German diplomatic missions abroad. They implemented an agreed government policy to the displeasure of the far more conservative Interior Ministry under nasty bastard sherriff Otto Schilly - and of course the anti-Ausländer dregs of the CDU/CSU.

In terms of the Schengen rules (that I don't agree with) the relaxation of visa restrictions "went wrong" and the rules were changed back again.

Fischer did NOT break any rules for his personal gain, unlike Blunkett.

He's being witchunted by the CDU/CSU/FDP who want to get their knives out for Germany's most popular politician. Fischer swung the last election, he might well swing the next. Any investigation by the Bundestag which would be drivien by the CDU/CSU is not unlikely to reach a conclusion just before the next election.

You work it out.

Schilly is pretty hardline, remember that this is a man whose political career started as a defence lawyer for Horst Mahler during an early Baader Meinhoff trial. The man has no fear.

Horst Mahler ended up as a fascist and Otto Schilly as hardline Federal Interior Minister. Ironies of life huh! ?

"If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain."

NOT by Winston Churchil
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/...cfm?pageid=112