Many arrests in German coup plot.

[adam2]

Shocking news in my view. This is the sort of thing that happens in banana republics and maybe in the outlying and less sensible parts of Europe, and not in a leading EU nation.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63885028

[clv101]

The concept of 'sensible parts of Europe' as dramatically different from so called banana republics is collapsing. Those banana republics of the '80s and '90s are swiftly modernising while much of the west is well into its collapse.

[Vortex2]

We lived in Germany for several years.

This event doesn't totally surprise me.

Brits - and Americans - don't seem to realize that the culture, history and attitudes in other 'Western' countries can be somewhat different to theirs.

[BritDownUnder]

It doesn't surprise me at all. I have worked with them and a lot of them are very nasty bastards. They are, as you say, quite different to British or Americans. Americans can certainly be nasty if the situation or timeline dictates but they rarely stay that way for long. I would have liked to have seen it run its course - which would probably have been a few dead policemen and all coup plotters dead. My greatest pleasure is seeing foreigners who I don't like killing each other.

I do think this seems very overrated. 30 people taking over the parliament does not take over the country. I think the Trinidad and Tobago cabinet got taken hostage a few decades ago by followers of a certain religion but the Army stayed loyal. It is only in very centralised African countries that coups really succeed.

Banana republics like errr... Nicaragua or Venezuela swiftly modernising. Give me a few examples of former banana republics modernising. Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico?
I agree on the decline of the West though. Bad planning, general political naivety, and 'interest groups' are helping greatly.

[Stumuz2]

Guardian blames Brexit.

[BritDownUnder]

Guardian blames Brexit.

I don't know. How will they ever get over the 'cash cow' leaving their club? The cash cow now seems to have been driven to bankruptcy by the whole affair.

As an unknown Australian once said. If they weren't politicians you would feel sorry for them. I would say, if they weren't Germans I would feel sorry for them.