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The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Friedrich Merz set to take office as German chancellor
Jakub Krupa Some 70 days after winning the parliamentary election in February, CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz will finally become the new German chancellor today, taking over from embattled Olaf Scholz. Incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of CDU carries documents, ahead of a Bundestag CDU/CSU fraction meeting, where a new chair will be elected, in Berlin, Germany. Photograph: Liesa Johannssen/Reuters Last night, Scholz was given a formal send-off party – probably best described by the Economist's Tom Nuttall as 'think military parade crossed with Desert Island Discs and you're halfway there' – leaving the office to the sounds of Bach, Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' and the Beatles' 'In My Life.' There will be time and place to properly sum up his term, acknowledging that whatever plans he may have had got quickly derailed by Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, three months into his chancellorship. But today the focus will be on what's next with a number of extremely urgent tasks facing the new chancellor, not just in international politics or the economy, but with the broader crisis of people's trust that things work as they should. In his farewell speech, summing up his three years holding the highest office in the country, Scholz said: 'Only if you (the German citizen) have confidence in democracy and its representatives can this democracy succeed. Earning this trust has always been the driving force behind my political commitment.' Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz leaves after his military tattoo ceremony hosted by the Bundeswehr in honour of his service. Photograph: Getty Images Merz will need to figure out – and figure out fast – how to keep that democratic confidence alive at a time when the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, the main opposition party now formally designated as an extremist force, comes top in some of the public opinion polls. The Bundestag will sit from 9am Berlin time (8am London) to formally appoint the new chancellor, and later to confirm the members of his government, with media rumours that the first cabinet meeting will take place this evening, ahead of Merz's expected trips to Paris and Warsaw tomorrow. We will bring you all the latest. It's Tuesday, 6 May 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. Share
The Guardian
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Scholz to hand over power in Germany to sound of feminist anthem Respect
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is to be played out of office by a military band who will perform tunes chosen by him that are intended to sum up his mood and political life. Scholz will bow out to the Beatles, Johann Sebastian Bach and an Otis Redding hit made famous by Aretha Franklin. The 66-year-old will hand over office on Tuesday to Friedrich Merz, whose centre-right conservatives won Germany's federal election in February, and who will lead a coalition with Scholz's Social Democrats. In a tradition going back to the 16th century, chancellors, presidents, defence ministers and military generals are given a farewell ceremony, and their chosen playlist always receives much scrutiny. According to tradition, Scholz was allowed to request three pieces of music that will be performed by the band of the armed forces. On the programme is the Beatles' In My Life, seen as a nod to his earlier political life when he was mayor of the northern port city of Hamburg between 2011 and 2018, where the Liverpool musicians cut their teeth in its clubs and bars in the 1960s. Some commentators have suggested the song, the lyrics of which include the line 'of all these friends and lovers, there is no one compares with you', is also a tribute to his wife, the fellow politician Britta Ernst, to whom he has often expressed his affection and gratitude. An excerpt from Bach's second Brandenburg Concertos , his only classical choice, is a likely reference to the state of Brandenburg, where he lives and which he will continue to serve as a backbencher. He was the only Social Democrat to win a direct mandate in the former communist east, where the far-right Alternative für Deutschland more or less swept the board. The song choice that has caused the most mirth is the feminist anthem Respect, made famous by Franklin, which alludes to a keyword of the election campaign that brought him to power in 2021, and which he has repeated often. Critics say he has not always lived up to the motto himself, having sometimes been gruff or appearing dismissive to journalists in particular. Commentators have said Scholz's musical choices offer a rare glimpse into the emotional side of the chancellor, who was often referred to as a 'Scholzomat' due to his robotic-like responses, and whose old black leather briefcase became something of a TikTok star while he stayed in the background. Referring to him as a 'file carrier' in a farewell column, Franz Josef Wagner, a veteran columnist for the tabloid Bild, said Scholz's inability to communicate had probably contributed to the brevity of his tenure as chancellor, which lasted just over three years. 'Dear departing chancellor, if you had told us everything that went on in your heart, you would maybe still be chancellor today. But your mouth was sealed. You had a silent heart,' he wrote. Scholz's immediate predecessor Angela Merkel chose Nina Hagen's 1974 hit You Forgot the Colour Film, a mix of nostalgia for holidays on the Baltic coast and a critique of grey life in communist Germany; the chanson Red Roses Should Rain for Me, a 1968 hit by the German actor Hildegard Knef; and Great God, We Praise You, a 17th-century ecumenical hymn. Among the choices of her predecessor, the Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder, was Frank Sinatra's My Way.
Irish Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Olaf Scholz bows out with Beatles song, Bach piece and final plea for respect
Germany's acting chancellor Olaf Scholz was set to bow out of office on Friday evening with a special 'grand tattoo' military ceremony and a familiar Beatles tune. After three years, four months and 23 days in power, the 66-year-old hands over power on Tuesday to Friedrich Merz, whose centre-right Christian Democratic Unionwon Germany's federal election in February. Germany's Bundeswehr armed forces stage grand tattoo ceremonies to bid farewell to chancellors, presidents, defence ministers and generals in an event dating back to the 16th century. Following tradition, Mr Scholz was allowed three requests for musical pieces to be played by the Bundeswehr band. His classical choice was an excerpt from Johann Sebastian Bach's second Brandenburg Concerto. From Tuesday Mr Scholz will be an ordinary backbencher deputy for Brandenburg's capital Potsdam, where he lives. READ MORE Another musical nod went to In My Life by The Beatles, who played early concerts in Hamburg, where Mr Scholz served as mayor. His final musical choice was the Aretha Franklin hit Respect, a nod to a keyword of the 2021 election campaign that brought him to power. The musical choices and their messages caused amusement in the German media, in light of the Scholz coalition's premature collapse last November. The Bild tabloid suggested the emotional In My Life, 'recalling dead and living friends', was an odd choice for a politician dubbed the 'Scholzomat' for his robotic public persona. 'This file-carrier who ... says nothing and has everything except poetry,' wrote Bild columnist Franz-Josef Wagner. He was equally critical of Mr Scholz's belated plea for respect: 'Dear departing chancellor, if you had told us everything that goes on in your heart, maybe you would today still be chancellor. But your mouth was closed. You had a silent heart.' [ Centre-left SDP approves German coalition deal with centre-right CDU Opens in new window ] On Wednesday Mr Scholz chaired his 131st and final cabinet meeting which was, his spokesman said afterwards, 'as sober as you'd expect from this chancellor'. Journalists were amused by his musical choices, given respect was not always a priority in his approach to them. After the 2022 G7 summit in Bavaria, for instance, asked if he could say more about possible German security guarantees for Ukraine, a grinning Mr Scholz said: 'Yes, I could, that's it.' For Scholz biographer Mark Schieritz the episode revealed an unflattering 'arrogance of believing that he knows where things are going and that only he understands a subject'. Mr Scholz had his final public appearance on Friday at a Lutheran church gathering in Hanover. In what sounded like a political epitaph he told an audience how politicians 'need to do everything we can to give people confidence and reassurance – 'the future will be good for me' – without perceiving others as enemies' .
Irish Daily Star
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
The Beatles song Paul McCartney and John Lennon had constant arguments over
The Beatles , with their iconic songs, often had members of the band recalling different versions of how these tunes came to be. Most of their music was penned by Paul McCartney and John Lennon (credited jointly as Lennon - McCartney), and the two sometimes disagreed on who contributed more to a particular song. Eleanor Rigby was one such song that John and Paul couldn't agree on who the main writer was . Similarly, they disputed over the origins of parts of In My Life and And I Love Her. Another Beatles track where John's memories didn't align with others was 'Rain'. This 1966 song was the B-side to the 'Paperback Writer' single and was recorded during the 'Revolver' album sessions. Read More Related Articles Today Show host Jenna Bush Hager supported by fans as she confesses she is 'exhausted' Read More Related Articles Bono reveals his favorite song of all time - and it's a Bob Dylan deep cut Seen as an early instance of the innovative techniques and musical style that marked the band's work in the latter half of the 1960s, it notably includes a slowed-down rhythm track and reversed vocals. John Lennon and Paul McCartney pictured in 1963 (Image:) John claimed this was his brainchild, inspired when he was under the influence. In a 1980 chat with Playboy, he shared: "I got home from the studio and I was stoned out of my mind on marijuana and, as I usually do, I listened to what I'd recorded that day." "Somehow I got it on backwards and I sat there, transfixed, with the earphones on, with a big hash joint. "I ran in the next day and said, 'I know what to do with it, I know... Listen to this!' So I made them all play it backwards. The fade is me actually singing backwards with the guitars going backwards. "[Singing backwards] Sharethsmnowthsmeaness... [Laughter] That one was the gift of God, of Ja, actually, the god of marijuana, right? So Ja gave me that one." John had claimed he had written the song alone but Paul saw it differently and said it was collaborative. In the book Many Years From Now, he said: "I don't think he brought the original idea, just when we sat down to write, he kicked it off. "Songs have traditionally treated rain as a bad thing and what we got on to was that it's no bad thing. There's no greater feeling than the rain dripping down your back. "The most interesting thing about it wasn't the writing, which was tilted 70-30 to John, but the recording of it." Producer George Martin said he, rather than John, came up with the idea of backward vocals for the recording, which took place at Abbey Road in April 1966. In the book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mr Martin said: "I was always playing around with tapes and I thought it might be fun to do something extra with John's voice. So I lifted a bit of his main vocal off the four-track, put it onto another spool, turned it around and then slid it back and forth until it fitted. "John was out at the time but when he came back he was amazed. Again, it was backwards forever after that." Ringo Starr's beats on Rain earned accolades following its release in May 1966, with Rolling Stone heralding his performance as "superb". Ringo himself reflected in 1984, "I think it's the best out of all the records I've ever made. 'Rain' blows me away ... I know me and I know my playing ... and then there's 'Rain'." Paul McCartney was effusive in his compliments for Ringo, stating: "The drums became a giant drum kit... We got a big, ponderous, thunderous backing and then we worked on top of that as normal, so that it didn't sound like a slowed-down thing, it just had a big ominous noise to it. It was nice, I really enjoyed that one." The Guardian lauded 'Rain' as "perhaps the best Beatles B-side of all." Meanwhile critic Jim DeRogatis labeled it "The Beatles' first great psychedelic rock song". For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here .
Irish Independent
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
My favourite room: ‘With the spare room, I had a bit of space and started painting again' – inside artist Carolyn Walsh's artisan Stoneybatter cottage
Kerrywoman Carolyn Walsh studied textiles and graphics at art college but was drawn more to creating her own artworks with photography and paint. A period of seven snowy nights that confined her to her artisan home in Stoneybatter acted as the catalyst for a new career These days people talk endlessly about making memories; making memories for little ones of their childhoods, making memories among friends and lovers to strengthen relationships, making memories for us all to reflect back on when we can no longer go out and have the experiences. People are usually at the centre of this memory making but so too are places. As John Lennon sang in the poignant lyrics of his song In My Life: 'All these places had their moments.'
