Bannon's War Room - May 29, 2026


WarRoom Battleground EP 1020: RYAN BRIDGE Releases His First Public Statement — To The WarRoom — On Colleague Charged With Murder


Episode Stats


Length

49 minutes

Words per minute

148.84995

Word count

7,358

Sentence count

199

Harmful content

Toxicity

6

sentences flagged

Hate speech

12

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is the primal scream of a dying regime.
00:00:07.700 Pray for our enemies, because we're going medieval on these people.
00:00:12.940 I got a free shot at all these networks lying about the people.
00:00:17.200 The people have had a belly full of it.
00:00:19.120 I know you don't like hearing that.
00:00:20.540 I know you try to do everything in the world to stop that,
00:00:22.300 but you're not going to stop it.
00:00:23.240 It's going to happen.
00:00:24.500 And where do people like that go to share the big lie?
00:00:27.900 Mega Media.
00:00:28.800 I wish in my soul, I wish that any of these people had a conscience.
00:00:34.680 Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose?
00:00:38.460 If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.
00:00:44.760 War Room. Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.
00:00:48.080 Friday 29th of May, Anno Domini 2026, Harnwell here at the helm on Steve Bannon's War Room.
00:01:04.280 Good evening folks, we had to change our planned schedule a very very short notice
00:01:12.000 and ask Ryan Bridge, co-founder of Raise the Colors.
00:01:16.820 basically to stop what he was doing and come in and join us on the show
00:01:21.400 right now um and as this is breaking news i'm going to be briefing myself
00:01:28.840 somewhat as we do this the situation is this um ryan is as you
00:01:35.820 know beloved figure on the war room uh and in the time that
00:01:40.560 he's been coming here on the show and explaining to our largely american
00:01:45.400 audience about the project that he's co-founder of raising the colors raising the union jack flag
00:01:52.340 across the uk um a huge huge out flow of love and respect and encouragement because i think
00:02:05.560 ryan bridge having got ryan bridge having got to know him a little bit is the as far as i am
00:02:12.380 The number one English patriot working right now in the grassroots in the UK.
00:02:20.080 His co-founder, Billy Allison, was charged with murder yesterday.
00:02:26.980 This is why we've asked Ryan to come on at such short notice to explain the details of this.
00:02:34.540 Ryan, very grateful that you have changed your day's plans at very short notice to come here and explain this.
00:02:43.260 I realise that this is now in legal hands, so you'll obviously be careful about what you can say,
00:02:53.480 what the lawyers are allowing you to say, seeing as this is now subjudicate.
00:02:58.560 Tell me in light strokes, in light touches, what is the background of this story regarding your co-founder, Billy Allison?
00:03:09.300 Hi, guys. So first and foremost, I just want to say how deeply saddened I am and how all our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of this man that sadly, sadly, terribly died in this tragic accident.
00:03:25.680 and, you know, we're deeply, deeply devastated
00:03:31.120 that somebody from Raise the Colours is connected and linked to this
00:03:35.700 and we just, we're all horrified and shocked.
00:03:39.160 We've, you know, we've stopped the flagging for this week
00:03:42.620 and stopped the normal day-to-day outings that we do
00:03:45.720 and we're sort of downed tools out of respect for the family
00:03:49.600 and, you know, it's just a terrible tragedy
00:03:52.880 and we're getting the details through, you know,
00:03:56.280 as and when and stuff like that.
00:03:58.080 So it's really, really sad.
00:04:00.180 And I just do want to correct people and yourself, Ben, please,
00:04:04.020 that Billy Allison isn't the co-founder of Raise the Colours.
00:04:11.380 You know, he's a figure that's been at Raise the Colours, you know,
00:04:15.620 and there is pictures of him circulating wearing the Raise the Colours
00:04:18.680 merchandise.
00:04:19.220 um you know i take that on board billy's uh you know billy's a for me a friend of mine
00:04:26.680 and um it's completely tragic what's happened and um you know circumstances of of what's
00:04:34.680 happened it's just really really sad and unfortunate um and yeah it's it's just deeply
00:04:40.560 something do you do you know um matt ogara who's the the the pub landlord who was killed
00:04:50.640 um i know of him i believe he's a great guy um and you know nothing but but love to him and his
00:04:59.820 family and and ask you know sincere condolences and um you know for billy to be linked with our
00:05:07.020 organisation who's now um involved in this um in this case you know deeply saddens all of us for
00:05:15.560 for all our hard work that we've done going forward and um you know and it's it's i think
00:05:21.480 it's one of those things where if we could all turn back the clock i think that
00:05:24.440 you know i believe this guy's a good guy so um i just feel deeply saddened for the family really
00:05:33.420 i understand that um and as i said at the beginning this is breaking news and i am somewhat
00:05:40.780 briefing myself right now as i'm talking to you having been able to get the loose facts um
00:05:48.420 as they've been released in the press tell me a bit then if you wouldn't mind on on billy's
00:05:55.920 relationship to raise the colors because he is being quite widely described in the press
00:06:03.280 as co-founder exactly i mean it's if you look at certain press outlets yet again it's the
00:06:09.400 birmingham mail who have then distributed that to the mirror the mirror and the mail as you know are
00:06:16.100 far anti-british anti-patriotism anti anything to do with raise the colors who is a what is a
00:06:25.220 peaceful movement and we are just trying to show you know unity against the flag movement and
00:06:31.280 and these are completely against this and these people um you know you can see the comments there
00:06:39.060 they're sort of gloating in in in joy over this real sad tragic situation there's some horrific
00:06:46.320 comments on there um and we don't think it's right so we haven't commented um at all on on
00:06:53.060 the situation we haven't commented uh you guys are the first people that i've spoken to i've had
00:06:58.660 news agencies asking me, you know, this, that, and the other,
00:07:01.560 is he the co-founder, isn't he?
00:07:02.760 And I've just ceased to comment.
00:07:04.180 I was just in so much shock myself, you know, and, you know,
00:07:11.700 Matt, I don't know Matt personally,
00:07:15.640 but I know him through friends of friends.
00:07:18.840 And I think Matt was, you know, a great guy,
00:07:21.060 and I think he was all for what he was doing.
00:07:22.520 It's just a tragic, a tragic, I don't want to say accident,
00:07:28.100 I don't want to say. I don't know.
00:07:30.420 I just don't know the ins and outs at the moment.
00:07:32.160 So it's in the hands of the family and lawyers.
00:07:35.800 And we're feeling deeply saddened for Matt's family as well and friends.
00:07:42.280 We're absolutely devastated that this has happened like this.
00:07:46.700 What can you tell me about the context of this tragedy?
00:07:54.700 i believe there was an altercation something's happened i believe there was
00:08:01.260 one blow to one male and one blow to another man and the one male uh obviously you know this is
00:08:08.960 what's happened so it's just deeply deeply devastating um it's a real real real real shame
00:08:18.040 um you know so it was it was it was a fight between two guys basically in in a pub
00:08:25.960 i'm not too sure i just believe there was one blow thrown one blow struck and that was it
00:08:34.160 um so that's where i'm at and i'm just i'm very sketchy on what i say um
00:08:41.160 because i didn't quite see anything i was on there on that evening i didn't see anything myself
00:08:46.000 um and you know i tried to uh you know i tried to help matt i put matt in in the recovery position
00:08:56.740 and things like this and i i tried to you know me and my partner were there it was just a freak
00:09:01.340 freak i don't know i don't know how to say it's like a moment of madness perhaps or what i don't
00:09:06.920 i don't really know so when you say that you put matt in the recovery position you weren't there
00:09:14.060 whilst the actual fight was taking place,
00:09:18.080 but you got there shortly afterwards.
00:09:21.080 Yeah, it was in a crowded venue.
00:09:26.500 I think that's why they're associating Billy as a co-founder
00:09:30.080 because of late he has been on a few pictures with us
00:09:32.980 and stuff like that.
00:09:33.780 But Billy come into what we've been doing very late on.
00:09:37.380 Obviously, this was founded last year and stuff like that.
00:09:39.980 So Billy did come into it late on.
00:09:42.260 um it's not you know anyway motivated or anything to do with the movement whatsoever and nothing to
00:09:49.860 do with raise the colors and you know it's it's nothing to do with that it's just that you know
00:09:55.660 one man knows somebody it's i don't know you you're you're if something happened in your agency
00:10:01.800 does it come across does it come across your news agency i don't i've never been in this situation
00:10:06.860 I'm just deeply, deeply saddened. And condone it ceases to the family and friends of Matt, first and foremost.
00:10:14.480 You said what was there was my next question, because I know you yourself have been attacked.
00:10:20.940 I think you might have had your wrist sprained quite recently, in fact, in an altercation because of violence directed towards the race, the colours movement. 0.70
00:10:32.060 That was my next question. Do we know at this stage whether the fight that broke out between these two guys, whether Raise the Colours was in any way part of that situation or was it totally extraneous?
00:10:47.980 um it's totally separate and nothing to do with it wasn't no no one was wearing any raise the
00:10:55.200 colors merchandise no one he was wearing it wasn't flag motivated it was literally a a sad sad thing
00:11:02.020 that's happened in um in a bar it's nothing to do with that it's um you know it's completely
00:11:08.640 completely separate all right stay with us ryan bridge i want to come back to him just two minutes
00:11:15.080 First of all, at this time of the show, it seems a bit difficult to break the heavy tone of this tragedy with a shout out to our sponsor. But folks, that's how live television works.
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00:15:15.460 gold now back to ryan bridge ryan um so look so the story here is because as i say this is
00:15:23.560 now dominating especially today the the uk news and obviously people are looking to smear
00:15:31.860 raise the colors in this trying to suggest that that that your group doing the incredible work
00:15:39.640 it's doing uh putting the flags up this you know trying to suggest look we don't need to draw the
00:15:44.780 dots you can do that you can read the headlines um what are the next steps ryan for raise the
00:15:52.680 colors with this um but i just before i handing the mic back over to you i just want to say for
00:15:58.240 folks who are just joining us right now you spent the the first half of this interview uh quite
00:16:04.300 appropriately but i'll just say it for folks who are joining after the adverts paying tribute to
00:16:10.460 the the pub landlord who was killed uh and saying that your thoughts and prayers are with him that
00:16:17.500 is the most important thing and tell me uh uh yeah that is the most important thing tell me though
00:16:23.880 um will you be putting out some kind of statement yourself on this in due course
00:16:28.660 um i mean obviously ben i've just while he was on the advert then i could have shed
00:16:34.140 another you know i don't want anyone to ever feel anything for myself this is this is totally i feel
00:16:41.300 so so terrible for the family and the friends of of the guy involved um and and this has affected
00:16:48.380 two families um and it's affected a lot of people involved by by what's happened and it's it's
00:16:54.140 absolutely tragic um so i just want to reiterate that again um it's it's just devastating um
00:17:01.860 and you know i have you know and i have i have got my own businesses and i have got my own family
00:17:07.760 my own life and i am you know i'd like to say i'm a run-of-the-mill normal guy and and you know
00:17:14.300 raise the colours and all the hard work we've done and what we've done and you know the ultra far
00:17:19.060 left again jumping onto every little thing and trying to i'm getting i'm getting phone calls
00:17:25.440 and i've had death threats i've had all sorts of horrible things happening um you know the police
00:17:31.920 have still got my phone from the week before the the cherry picker van has been took off us i'm on
00:17:37.540 bail from the thing in oxford i'm just like i don't know it's just hard to keep picking
00:17:44.140 yourself up and this is this is horrendous what's happened and it's it's sadly it's you know it it
00:17:51.280 it's it's it's a real sad thing that's happened and it's nothing to do with raise the colours and
00:17:56.460 yet for me putting my raise the colours hat on now raise the colours is getting tired with that
00:18:02.760 brush even yourself thought that Billy was a co-founder and the guy's not he was just a guy
00:18:07.480 that come and helped out now and again.
00:18:11.080 So it's unfortunate for the tens and tens of thousands
00:18:15.420 of the people that follow Raise the Colours
00:18:18.120 for us to be tired with that brush
00:18:20.260 that the ultra-fire left would love to do.
00:18:24.880 So what's the next steps for Raise the Colours?
00:18:30.120 Obviously, everything's been ceased and downed halls
00:18:33.220 out of respect and a week of respect for the family.
00:18:36.600 and tomorrow um we was meant to be doing a big event in truesbury where we was putting all the
00:18:43.120 flags and banners up and stuff like that but the police have got that found they won't release it
00:18:46.680 so it's just it's a catalogue of of issues and problems for um for little reward really because
00:18:55.380 it's as if we're the criminals um in the flag movement in the boat movement and now the ultra
00:19:02.460 fire left are trying to attach this terrible terrible scenario to people from raise the
00:19:10.100 colours um you know and i i completely understand that they would do that because that's that's
00:19:16.320 what they're like but this is this is completely disconnected um and like i said i feel for the
00:19:23.180 family and i feel um saddened for the friends and i feel feel very very sad for both families
00:19:28.200 involved um so we're going to going to go i'm going to support a guy tomorrow um who supported
00:19:35.180 us quite a bit he went he drove down to epping when we've done that he helped us at the st george
00:19:40.640 state parade and he's doing his own event in truesbury and um i'm going to go and show you
00:19:47.520 know my respect to him and i'm going to go and walk with him and help him i've had the police
00:19:51.780 phone me about that saying we need to let you know that there's no bail conditions out for you
00:19:56.520 and warrants we have to let you know this now and i'm like i should think so i'm not criminal you
00:20:01.180 know um so i'd hope there wasn't a warrant out for me still i'm the pcsl officer that deals with
00:20:06.040 it my name's sean and and um you know i'll meet you tomorrow and how many you bring in i said i'm
00:20:11.300 just a normal guy i just i've got this movement going because it's the state of the country um
00:20:17.140 and he said well the ultra left the left are going to be there and we're going to i said listen we
00:20:21.160 don't want any confrontations with people that are left-minded let them do their thing and if
00:20:25.580 They believe that they're doing the right thing.
00:20:27.760 That stands to them.
00:20:28.400 This is a free country.
00:20:29.400 But we believe that us standing up for the flag of our country
00:20:32.940 in our country, we believe that that's the right thing to do.
00:20:35.980 And if that represents that we've got the weakest borders 0.95
00:20:39.280 in the history of bloody mankind at the moment, it's ridiculous.
00:20:42.980 So we will highlight that within our speeches and our chats.
00:20:46.300 And we are getting invaded daily.
00:20:48.100 The French military are on the beach at the moment.
00:20:51.240 I don't know if you've seen any posts I've done in the last seven days,
00:20:53.800 but, you know, I've got raw footage of us being invaded
00:20:57.220 and, you know, whatever's gone on,
00:21:00.880 that is the forefront of what we do
00:21:02.800 and we don't believe that that's right
00:21:04.320 and we're doing it to protect people
00:21:06.220 and we're doing it so people are safe.
00:21:09.800 And it's just unfortunate what's gone on this week
00:21:11.940 and that Raise the Colours name's been attached to this incident
00:21:15.540 because it's completely separate and unrelated.
00:21:20.060 ryan um once again i am very grateful that you're um even as as the facts on the ground because you
00:21:28.700 you weren't there when um when this death took place you were there shortly afterwards um so i
00:21:36.300 i guess that you you yourself are in the process of ascertaining precisely what what happened
00:21:42.940 there's a lot there is a lot of misinformation out there in the press on online already um let me ask
00:21:50.780 you um again whether you are oh and i'm very grateful that that you've chosen the war room
00:21:58.140 to be um to for you to come on and make your first public comments uh following this um
00:22:05.740 this tragic death um but will you be it will raise the colors be making an official statement
00:22:13.380 at some point once you have been able to ascertain more fully what the facts are behind this death
00:22:22.100 um well i think obviously i've thought about it but whenever you sort of put pen to paper
00:22:31.640 you're associating yourself and trying to defend a movement which is nothing to do with what's
00:22:37.560 going on um and i think that when it all comes out i think people will see it was nothing to do
00:22:42.320 with that so whether raise the colors has to do a statement i think me myself um as somebody that
00:22:48.980 knows billy and and he's in a profile that i've got i think that the only statement is the one
00:22:54.680 that i've done on balance war room tonight because it's the truth and it's the truth it is sad and
00:23:00.500 it's such a shame for for the family and friends and it's it's a shame for both families and a lot
00:23:05.300 of people are affected by this and it is um it is really sad and tragic and i'm gutted for everybody
00:23:11.700 at raise the colours that that are sort of going to be tarnished with this now it's i feel it's
00:23:16.600 it's a shame through all the good hard work that we've done um you know the ultra far left
00:23:21.960 will cling on to anything to you know like i'm saying that with a smile on my face to try and
00:23:27.300 discredit the movement and what we're doing and i think that they you know if you read some of the
00:23:33.740 comments they're absolutely gloating about this and it's just not not that way it's not that
00:23:38.240 situation it shows it shows what they're they're about really um you know there's been some horrible
00:23:45.060 things said and it's um it's just not nice at all and we just you know our goal is you know to
00:23:53.600 protect women and children and the safety of british uh civilians in england and wales and
00:24:02.920 scotland and and you know if people are coming in through the front door legally with papers
00:24:07.220 and documents migration happy days integrate with us you know join in but if you're you know
00:24:14.640 if you're going to say spain and you don't like paella or you don't like you know what they're
00:24:19.300 there you know you shouldn't it's not it's not for you and that's what i'm sort of saying the 1.00
00:24:23.400 people that are coming into our country are breaking in illegally and we'll just stick to 0.96
00:24:26.780 that and we'll stick to the flag movements and like i've always said it's not about color creed 0.82
00:24:32.080 race religion so i just want to rule all of that out um and i just want to sound deeply deeply sorry
00:24:38.520 for what's happened look um ryan bridge we're just coming up to the close of our lot of time
00:24:45.540 to discuss this just very quickly 60 seconds are you able at this stage to give us an indication
00:24:51.960 in terms of the legal steps of of what they're going to be moving forward from this point onwards
00:24:58.380 i'm not too sure i'm not i'm not that closely involved um so i'm not too sure on the procedure
00:25:05.680 or anything like that um literally within the movement of raise the colors um you know i i
00:25:13.280 I don't know, and that's why it's a dangerous thing to do
00:25:15.860 with the merchandise and stuff.
00:25:17.580 I mean, you know, we had the thing where people wearing masks,
00:25:20.800 wearing raised-the-coloured jumpers, and I thought, well,
00:25:22.660 I don't know then.
00:25:23.600 So that was the week before, so it's quite difficult.
00:25:27.640 And, you know, I think there's near on, over every platform,
00:25:31.140 there's near on 500,000 people, so I don't know.
00:25:35.640 I don't know how to manage for it, really.
00:25:37.800 I'm just a normal guy, as I say, and I love my country.
00:25:41.600 I love what my country's stood up for
00:25:43.840 and I love what my forefathers done
00:25:45.480 I'm a patriot and I'm a
00:25:47.800 true British and Englishman
00:25:49.140 So folks
00:25:51.420 just joining us, this is a very
00:25:53.920 short notice change to our
00:25:56.060 planned show
00:25:58.060 for this evening
00:25:58.820 but I'd suggest
00:26:01.520 an associate, a volunteer of
00:26:03.800 Raise the Colours was involved
00:26:05.320 in a death
00:26:07.740 uh at a drinking venue um i think yesterday and the press is describing this hard they're going
00:26:17.680 hard on this as ryan bridge is explaining the reasons for that um just as any tool to beat
00:26:23.320 you guys with just very quickly once again ryan bridge grateful for you to come on and to explain
00:26:28.560 some of the details behind this um grateful um i i think everyone is with you in offering your
00:26:37.460 thoughts and prayers to this guy who did die um where would they go and give me 10 seconds where
00:26:44.120 do people go just uh to keep in touch with your um with your statement you're making
00:26:50.260 raisethecolors.org.uk
00:26:53.200 vinebridge thank you once again we'll stay in touch god bless for now
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00:28:57.740 Welcome back.
00:28:58.680 Well, a couple of polls have come out over the last few days.
00:29:03.420 One of them suggesting that the alternative for Deutschland, the AFD, has surged to 28% now in the polls.
00:29:15.300 That was a YouGov poll.
00:29:16.300 And the CDU, Christian Democrat Union, along with the Christian Social Union, I think that's the Bavarian chapter, are on 22%.
00:29:30.460 So they're leading, the AFD is now leading the mainstream Christian Democrat central right by six points.
00:29:38.040 only 15% of Germans are satisfied with Chancellor Friedrich Mertz
00:29:47.840 and another poll that I saw is that the AFD in the state of Saxony
00:29:53.340 is on 42% in the polls
00:29:57.440 which is near enough to being an absolute majority
00:30:00.600 astonishing figure there
00:30:02.540 Philip Gasper, our resident expert on these things
00:30:06.840 joins us now just to talk through what the situation is in Germany.
00:30:11.080 The most Germany's largest population, largest EU member state by population,
00:30:17.540 largest EU member state by economy, if Germany should have AFD representation,
00:30:27.460 that would be catastrophic for the business-as-usual brigade
00:30:34.380 of the Christian democratic centre-right.
00:30:37.280 Real revolution is taking place in real time,
00:30:40.220 which we're watching.
00:30:42.320 And Philipp Gaspard is going to help us navigate that.
00:30:44.400 Tell me what's going on on the ground there in Germany, Philipp.
00:30:49.940 Good evening. Thanks for having me.
00:30:51.400 It's even worse, the 28% that you just mentioned,
00:30:56.560 it got even worse for the CDU and CSU.
00:30:59.040 It's 29 now, so even 7% on a federal level
00:31:03.000 in front of the Christian Democrats, 1.00
00:31:07.840 what they call themselves,
00:31:08.800 and especially the numbers you mentioned.
00:31:11.020 Can you imagine this?
00:31:12.560 82% of the German people are dissatisfied
00:31:16.200 with the work of the ruling government.
00:31:19.720 And even when we go,
00:31:22.420 when they judge the work of the chancellor,
00:31:26.140 Friedrich Merz, it's even worse.
00:31:27.780 80, 81%.
00:31:29.080 Even in my lifetime, I can't remember
00:31:31.960 a chancellor with such a bad reputation
00:31:35.340 I remember
00:31:37.380 a chancellor who did a worse job
00:31:39.100 was Merkel but even her reputations until the end
00:31:41.640 weren't that bad
00:31:43.660 as the
00:31:45.100 of the Mets
00:31:46.140 it's not just that
00:31:49.480 these
00:31:50.060 approval ratings are underwater
00:31:53.660 it's that it's happened so quickly
00:31:55.600 I mean has he been
00:31:57.540 chancellor for a year yet? I don't think so
00:31:59.880 is it a year?
00:32:00.700 A little bit more than a year.
00:32:03.640 A little bit more.
00:32:04.360 It was last year in March.
00:32:06.980 Okay.
00:32:07.340 A little bit more than a year.
00:32:08.220 Just over a year.
00:32:11.280 Exactly.
00:32:12.160 It's astonishing to have collapsed so quickly, though, his support.
00:32:15.840 I don't even think Olaf Scholz was that unpopular after five years.
00:32:22.880 No, he wasn't.
00:32:25.520 But I mean, also Friedrich Merz has the bad luck
00:32:28.120 that now he's earning all the misjudgments
00:32:33.460 and the bad politics from the former governments.
00:32:37.400 Now the economics are a decline.
00:32:41.100 Like we have in Germany, I think every day, every month,
00:32:44.940 we have more and more companies
00:32:46.520 and even old traditional companies that are shutting down.
00:32:50.120 And the main reason for that is the increased energy prices,
00:32:53.700 which of course since since germany since germany accepted accepted to join this war war
00:33:02.820 or the defense in ukraine call whatever you want so this is one of the i think it's the main reason 0.75
00:33:07.900 it's the it's the economy it's stupid as they say that now the people in such a short time 0.97
00:33:13.200 short time are as unsatisfied as they are with friedrich merz 0.93
00:33:18.600 I guess one of the factors here is, or two factors that are related, is the German government's intention to reintroduce the draft and also its successful pressuring, before it had even been sworn in, to remove the constitutional break on deficit spending.
00:33:41.380 Obviously, with Germany's past, it was probably the most important, unchangeable foundation of the modern German federal state was the fear of inflation, because the hyperinflation was what had led to the Nazis and Adolf Hitler in the first place.
00:34:02.620 So the whole transcended party politics. Every single political party for decades, for 70 years, was we cannot deficit spend. We cannot do anything that is inflationary. And yet the war in Ukraine that dominates everything was considered to be enough to encourage...
00:34:22.620 social welfare changed the world for fridrich mertz to say look we need to take on debt here
00:34:29.100 we need to sort of uh in order to start deficit spending specifically for defense so you have
00:34:34.900 these two things here you have this massive um i mean i know the term sea change is overused but it
00:34:41.620 is a very um big thing for germany the the pivot on deficit spending for defense in order to fight
00:34:50.560 the um potentially fight um Vladimir Putin who somehow unbelievably even though he can't take
00:34:58.540 Ukraine in uh in in four years is considered to be an existential threat to Europe's largest economy
00:35:07.520 and and the drafts are these two things now starting to have a real to generate the the
00:35:14.400 the deficit spending and the draft because from my looking my perch here german german youth aren't
00:35:22.480 looking forward to being drafted to go and send be sent over to ukraine these are the two issues here
00:35:28.680 that are specifically generating opposition for friedrich mertz it's one i would say i would say
00:35:35.720 the economy economy economy is more the second one what you mentioned the the the fear of being
00:35:41.940 drafted. It plays a role, but not as big as people could assume. But I'll give you an
00:35:49.380 example from last week. I think it was Saturday or Friday. I'm not sure. I live in Berlin,
00:35:56.160 so I went to the city center, of course. Suddenly, the roads were closed, and I approached the
00:36:03.340 police officer and asked him, what are they today going to demonstrate again? Climate,
00:36:07.820 at Palestine, Iran whatsoever, and I said no, 0.93
00:36:12.320 it was youngsters, youth people that were demonstrating
00:36:16.500 against getting drafted.
00:36:18.700 And you saw from all kinds of people from the society,
00:36:23.980 like from people with dreadlocks,
00:36:26.380 or younger people with dreadlocks,
00:36:27.780 or let's call them typically leftists
00:36:30.040 and also more conservative.
00:36:32.120 So this plays a role, but the main role, in my opinion,
00:36:35.880 especially the fear of not being anymore the champion
00:36:39.840 inside the European Union when it comes to economics
00:36:42.020 and, of course, security and all those other reasons.
00:36:47.740 But there's also an interesting thing you mentioned before,
00:36:50.820 besides the 29% that the AFD now is ruling on a federal level,
00:36:56.420 especially in Eastern Germany, it's Saxony that you mentioned,
00:36:59.800 I think 42%, but also in Saxony-Analde.
00:37:03.260 And Saxony-Anhalt, it's, I think, 39, no, 39 or to 40, I'm not quite sure,
00:37:09.380 but we have the elections in September in Saxony-Anhalt.
00:37:13.900 Saxony-Anhalt and already, of course, already AFD is ruling in the polls,
00:37:18.580 in the CDU, in the Socialist or SPD.
00:37:21.560 SPD, Social Democratic Party, if they go together,
00:37:25.000 they don't have enough percentage to overrule or to form a government without the AFD.
00:37:31.480 and and this is the the heartland right of the um of the afd where it's popular
00:37:38.920 its popularity is the highest right in saxony um no the heartland right of the afd is now
00:37:46.600 all of germany before before that it was always easier always easier but now um now we're um the
00:37:53.640 the AFD members or the AFD people from Eastern Germany
00:37:58.860 got some great other competitors in all of Germany.
00:38:05.940 And I think, you know what, I think the polls are even higher.
00:38:09.420 I think they're just maybe too afraid
00:38:12.120 because it's like every week, 1% more.
00:38:17.700 So I would say now all of Germany became blue 0.84
00:38:22.100 or safety land 0.94
00:38:23.820 wow
00:38:25.560 incredible news
00:38:27.240 exactly
00:38:29.620 sorry to interrupt
00:38:32.180 just to show you
00:38:36.180 two examples from 0.69
00:38:37.460 ridiculous examples of this week
00:38:39.960 because of course the CDU 0.87
00:38:42.220 they're getting desperate
00:38:44.060 because they know they are on a losing
00:38:46.340 team so what the
00:38:47.480 CDU did officially I'm talking officially
00:38:49.900 they started a new campaign against the AFD this week
00:38:53.420 and they tried to send to all AFD members
00:38:57.920 pre-written resignation letters
00:39:00.720 to all members of all MPs from the AFD
00:39:06.040 in the German parliament in the Bundestag
00:39:07.520 they sent pre-written resignation letters
00:39:09.480 urging them to quit their party
00:39:11.540 and along with the anti-AFD brochure
00:39:13.840 that the CDU had just published last week
00:39:16.020 I mean can you imagine this
00:39:17.720 and AFD described this action or campaigned absolute helplessness.
00:39:25.340 In fact, if I were with the CDU, with those polls,
00:39:30.440 like with 82% of the Germans dissatisfied with the work
00:39:36.140 and even more when it comes to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, 0.52
00:39:39.460 I think just imagine that 82% or even half of them
00:39:42.940 would write a pre-written resignation letter to the government now.
00:39:47.720 so they're getting desperate
00:39:50.380 they are getting desperate
00:39:53.060 and one indication of just how desperate
00:39:55.400 they're going to get is
00:39:57.160 the clamping down on
00:39:58.860 the free, on the communication
00:40:01.340 of free ideas, stay tuned folks
00:40:03.420 give a quick shout out to one of our
00:40:05.320 sponsors of the show and we'll dig down with
00:40:07.220 Philip Gaspar a little more on that story
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00:40:11.320 in the first half of the show
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00:41:04.580 Well, in the closing moments then of this show, I will ask Philip Gaspar to explain to me something that I picked up in the press and that is that Maximilian Merkel, if I pronounce that correctly, Merkel, spokesman for the identitarian movement, was stopped by federal police at Munich airport and banned from travelling to the re-migration summit in Portugal.
00:41:32.720 Well, that's something I think that the war in Posse might have picked up.
00:41:36.820 The reason given for the blocking, which took place, I think, on the German side rather than on the Portuguese side,
00:41:44.220 was that his trip would harm Germany's reputation.
00:41:49.500 Well, normally people, you know, if normally people have stopped trying to enter a country because they could.
00:41:58.360 Exactly.
00:41:58.800 I think that was the excuse that was used for a number of people.
00:42:02.160 but they were blocked from going this, I think, on the Portuguese side
00:42:05.380 or by the Portuguese police in the countries of departure
00:42:09.000 because they said their presence would be incendiary in Portugal.
00:42:14.800 To have German police block somebody from leaving
00:42:18.260 because they're saying that what they're going to say in another country
00:42:22.520 is damaging to Germany's reputation.
00:42:24.840 That, I think, Philipp Gaspar, is pretty much unprecedented,
00:42:28.900 but it is where we are today.
00:42:30.100 tell me uh precisely what happened there first of all um you spelled it correctly and pronounced
00:42:37.000 it correctly it's Merkel but it's written differently so it's it's he's not he's not in
00:42:43.080 somewhere he's not a relative of uh Angela Angela the former chancellor Merkel so yeah what happened
00:42:48.280 I mean as far as I know Maxim Maximilian who's a great guy has no criminal criminal record no
00:42:53.880 no background nothing um nothing at all but he he wants to travel from the Munich airport to the
00:42:59.760 The Remigration Summit is right now, today and Saturday,
00:43:02.920 taking place in Portugal, which is actually a very important thing
00:43:10.080 for all of us in Europe.
00:43:12.160 So I support that.
00:43:14.480 Maybe after my statement, now they won't let me enter to Portugal.
00:43:18.780 But as I said, imagine at the Munich airport,
00:43:23.500 the German police stopped him at the Munich airport
00:43:29.400 because they saw he could harm the reputation of Germany.
00:43:34.700 First of all, as you said, normally I think the police should do their job
00:43:42.100 and deny people from illegally entering Germany.
00:43:47.300 And if we come to that, that the police at the airport stops people from leaving Germany
00:43:55.980 and traveling to another country because they could harm the reputation of the of the of the
00:44:01.900 of germany of germany of the country germany there are a lot of other peoples that maybe some
00:44:07.340 of them that we spoke before before in the first part of the show that maybe they could apply to
00:44:12.780 them but i don't think to um young people like maximilian maximilian merkel who are just um
00:44:18.460 honest patriots um and okay i'm feeling sorrow for their for their yeah for their homeland and for
00:44:27.100 for the for our continent and for our future do the do the german police actually have the lawful
00:44:34.700 authority to stop somebody leaving in the country because they believe that what that person might
00:44:40.940 say in another country could be damaging to germany is that something that that german
00:44:46.540 police are actually empowered
00:44:48.600 to do or are they acting
00:44:50.480 beyond their
00:44:51.540 authority on this one
00:44:53.560 I mean I'm not a lawyer but
00:44:58.540 as we
00:45:00.620 saw
00:45:01.020 probably as it looks like
00:45:04.500 they have to write
00:45:06.360 by the law to stop someone from
00:45:08.360 leaving the country
00:45:09.460 so it wasn't a legal action
00:45:12.440 the reason
00:45:14.560 I ask is as far as I'm aware this is
00:45:16.340 unprecedented. I've never seen this happen
00:45:18.400 before, which is why I say
00:45:20.400 do they actually have the legal
00:45:22.280 authority to do this? Have there
00:45:24.180 been any questions raised in
00:45:26.220 the Bundestag
00:45:27.720 about this?
00:45:32.360 Not yet, because I think this happened
00:45:34.640 yesterday, so I'm quite
00:45:36.360 sure in the next
00:45:38.140 primary session
00:45:39.920 the AFD is rising these questions. Of course, they
00:45:42.280 already started them
00:45:44.060 online and press releases
00:45:46.160 But I think this will be a topic in the German parliament in the upcoming future, and it should be. I mean, ridiculous, as you said, sorry if I get emotional about this, but there's a young man with no criminal background that is just taking his fundamental right of freedom of movement.
00:46:07.240 And it gets violated just because some whoever inside the police thinks he shouldn't go and join and participate in a remigration and violent-less summit that takes place in Portugal.
00:46:23.760 I mean, what time is it, or how do you say in English, what times do we live right now?
00:46:29.060 So I hope this will end soon.
00:46:34.600 It's not going to end.
00:46:35.820 it only ends when we end it
00:46:37.760 and to come back to what we were mentioning
00:46:40.220 in the first part of our interview
00:46:41.900 that will involve the AFD
00:46:44.120 coming to power
00:46:45.060 I noticed that some people were blocked
00:46:47.800 from going to the UK
00:46:49.940 to the Tommy Robinson march
00:46:51.740 a couple of weeks ago
00:46:52.820 the UK blocked their entry
00:46:55.220 because they said that they believed
00:46:56.860 that what their speakers would say
00:46:59.400 would be incendiary
00:47:01.940 and create basically
00:47:03.420 But in this case, the UK government blocked them,
00:47:09.160 and now it's vice versa. 1.00
00:47:10.100 The Germans do the job for them. 0.98
00:47:12.300 But, I mean, on free speech grants, 0.56
00:47:15.360 I'm against blocking people from speaking,
00:47:17.240 but at least on that case, I understand what...
00:47:19.860 I mean, I'm opposed to it, but I understand the arguments,
00:47:23.620 though I don't agree with it.
00:47:25.240 On this case, I don't know how you can stop somebody leaving Germany,
00:47:29.980 how the German police can stop someone from leaving Germany for saying something, which is presumably legal in Germany and in Portugal, and say we're not going to let you leave the country.
00:47:43.600 That I think is a step up in terms of the degree of oppression that the German state is putting on people who aren't calling for sedition or to tear down the German state.
00:47:58.980 They are expressing a point of view, which as we discussed in the first half of the show, a point of view that has, though this guy is not AFD, it's the identitarian movement, but the things have a huge resonance with a huge swathe of the German people.
00:48:19.960 I think the German government will lose legitimacy when these things are used.
00:48:30.480 They will lose legitimacy.
00:48:32.380 And of course, in Germany, there is a law against delegitimization of the German state.
00:48:38.720 Ironically, the German state themselves are doing the very things that are delegitimizing their own authority.
00:48:45.740 So, Philipp Gaspar, always a great, great pleasure to have you here on the show
00:48:51.600 and to explain some of these things to us.
00:48:55.060 In the next, give me 10 seconds, 15 seconds.
00:48:57.880 We're on social media that people go to keep up with your analysis.
00:49:02.520 Our next Gaspar, Gaspar Philipp.
00:49:05.920 There you go, similar to that.
00:49:07.340 Philipp Gaspar, thanks very much indeed.
00:49:09.200 Catch up again with you soon.
00:49:11.440 Great expert there on Germany and the Balkans.
00:49:14.160 That's it, end of the show.
00:49:15.220 Steve's in the chair, 10am
00:49:17.080 to my own, my thanks to Vittorio
00:49:18.780 Santifranco for putting this
00:49:20.980 show together and for Spencer for holding
00:49:23.160 the fort, a real America's
00:49:25.340 voice in Denver