In this edition: False Start - The SPD's Chancellor Candidate Peer Steinbruck | Mobbing over the Net - Cyberbullying Among Students | Split Opinions - Should There be a Quota for Women in Upper Management? | Second Attempt - Plans to Ban the Far-Right NPD Party
Financial expert Peer Steinbrück is the Social Democratic candidate set to run against Chancellor Angela Merkel in parliamentary elections next year. His nomination is expected to be confirmed at a special party conference on December 9.
Yet, since being nominated to be Merkel's challenger, Steinbrück has faced nothing but criticism. In addition to controversy about his advisors and the large amounts he's earned for speaking engagements while collecting an MP's salary, Steinbrück also has a poor image among women voters.
Many pupils have been the target of hateful or insulting comments on the Internet. Researchers have found out that one in three students in Germany has been a victim of cybermobbing at least once.
Schools are now beginning to react and are teaching children how to defend themselves from cyber attacks.
In Germany, too few women occupy positions of power. The country lags behind its international counterparts when it comes to the percentage of women who hold top managerial jobs.
So should Germany set a quota for women mangers or is it enough to simply ask companies to commit to putting more females in top jobs? The current government can't agree on what course to take.
61 percent of Germans polled were against a fixed quota for women in upper management. Most favoured a flexible form of voluntary commitment instead.
Germany tried to ban the NPD, a right-wing extremist party, back in 2003. But the attempt failed when the country's Constitutional Court threw out the case, citing the possible influence of government informants on party policy. Now, in a second attempt, all 16 German states are expected to initiate legal proceedings against the NPD.
The party, which has just 6-thousand members, is considered aggressive and militant, and glorifies Nazism. Political parties have only been banned twice in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
