Erstellt am: 19. 9. 2011 - 14:08 Uhr

Middle East showdown

Reality Check: Abbas pushes on for Palestinian statehood, blow to Merkel in Berlin elections, Maria Fekter puts her foot in it, landgrabbing in Ethiopia, the fate of UK festivals

Despite a huge amount of diplomatic scuffling, not to say panicking, Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, insists he will press ahead with his high risk bid to get Palestine full membership of the United Nations. He's been talking about it for months, but as the time draws near, international efforts, from the US and EU in particular, to get him to change his mind are reaching fever pitch.

In practical terms, he will not succeed. He could have gone for the low risk option - recognition. This would give Palestine "observer" status - like the Vatican, for example, and he would almost certainly have won the vote. Recognition is awarded through a vote by the General Assembly, and he would have had sufficient support from around the world, especially the Arab states, for this to be approved. But instead, he's going for full membership - and that means a vote by the Security Council. Although the council has 15 members, the 5 permanent members have veto power, and one of those is the United States - so, even if the other 14 members were in favour, the US can block it.

This might make one wonder why Abbas is so insistant on making a bid that is bound to fail. Our Middle East correspondent, Iris Makkler, says he is trying to move the peace process up the international agenda. With negotiations stalled for the last 3 years, and the Israelis not showing any inclination to get back to the table, Abbas is trying another route to get the spotlight back on finding a solution for the region.

How far he is willing to push it is unclear, but Iris told Steve Crilley it will take a phenomenal offer to make him change his mind about pushing it at least as far as the Security Council.

Berlin delivers another blow to Merkel

Following a succession of regional election defeats around the country, Berlin has become the latest state to deliver disappointing news to the Chancellor. The junion coalition partner, the FDP, garnered only 2% of the vote, well below the 5% needed to give them seats in the Berlin regional government. While Merkel's Christian Democrats made slight gains, it's little consolation for the crumbling of support for the FDP. Our Berlin correspondent, Hannah Cleaver, told Steve Crilley about the impact this result is likely to have.

Maria Fekter "puts her foot in it"

Finance Minister, Maria Fekter's comments comparing calls for more taxation on high earners to the holocaust, caused a storm of outrage over the weekend, and led to her issuing a written apology. Joanna Bostock talks to analyst and political commentator Thomas Hofer about the consequences of her words at home and abroad.

Ethiopia's Anuak people losing out to land grabbing

The Anuak tribe have lived in and farmed the Gambela region for hundreds of years - but now the government is moving in and taking over their lands for so called "development". Nyikaw Ochalla told Chris Cummins about the land grabbing and its effect on the Anuak people.

The end of UK festivals?

Parts of the British media have been heralding the death of the UK festival scene, citing around 30 festivals that have been cancelled this year. However, our London correspondent, Robert Rotifer, told Chris Cummins that in realty, it is more a re-shaping of the festival scene, and that this is actually good news for music lovers.

FM4 Reality Check

Monday to friday from 12 to 14, and after the show via Podcast or fm4.orf.at/realitycheck.