I’m surprised nobody has mentioned it. www.spiegel.de
good! and for those who dont read german:
Angela Merkel fuhr ein desaströses Wahlergebnis ein, doch die Unionsspitze beschloss: Kritik an der Kandidatin wird vertagt. Zunächst soll sie Kanzlerin werden. Ob sich alle an die Losung halten, zeigt sich morgen. Im Eiltempo will sich Merkel als Fraktionschefin bestätigen lassen. Von Severin Weiland. :roll: :o
sigh
and for those not too lazy: on the right hand site of the page … scroll down and you will find the english section (about the 6th “paragraph” on the darker-yellowish part on the right).
I think the translation was screwed up…
The Anglisher article states that the CDU & SPD both got 38.5 % of the vote in 2002. If so how did the current Chancellor(?) get his job??
Coalition with the Greens, which were stronger than the Liberals.
Sigh, and everyone in the world though America had a problem in 2000. Guess it goes around.
Rune Blade
“The Master of Debate”
How did the NDSAP do? I also didnt see Hindenburg get very far…Perhaps its time this Wiemar thing just move on for the good of the nation. (JK) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
@Rune:
Sigh, and everyone in the world though America had a problem in 2000. Guess it goes around.
There is a problem in finding a coalition out of the 5 parties …
but the election in general was fair. The voting was correct. The popular vote is not ignored.
How did the NDSAP do? I also didnt see Hindenburg didnt get very far…Perhaps is time this Wiemar thing just move on for the good of the nation.
MODERATORS !!!
@Imperious:
How did the NDSAP do? I also didnt see Hindenburg get very far…Perhaps its time this Wiemar thing just move on for the good of the nation. (JK) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
It’s NSDAP not NDSAP in other words: National Socialist German Workers’ Party as opposed to National German Socialist Workers’ Party.
OK a typo… thanks
From the news article, it seems that Germany is having difficulty bringing a coalition together:
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BERLIN - Germany’s Greens rejected coalition talks with opposition leader Angela Merkel on Friday, leaving conservatives with only Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s party as an awkward partner for a new government.
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The failure raised the pressure on Merkel and Schroeder to resolve their rival claims to the chancellorship and end the political drift threatening Europe’s most populous country, just as it grapples with economic stagnation and mass unemployment.
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I kinda curious as to what the Germans here think will happen or should happen.
My (uneducated, uninformed) guess is that eventually an uneasy coalition will develop, but I think it will be weak enough that Germany’s government will have difficulty doing anything.
I don’t think this is a good think for either Germany or the world considering the delicate negotiations going on regarding Iran (can Europe do a better job here than the US has done in Iraq? maybe, but only time will tell) with Turkeys application to the EU, with Germanys internal problems, and so forth. But again, I’d like other viewpoints here.
Maybe this is the best thing that will happen to Germany? Many Americans prefer governmental gridlock, so that the government is unable to screw anything else up :lol:
:wink:
@221B:
From the news article, it seems that Germany is having difficulty bringing a coalition together:
True, because it is either the “grand coalition”, or a three-party coalition (which we never had before in this republic).
My (uneducated, uninformed) guess is that eventually an uneasy coalition will develop, but I think it will be weak enough that Germany’s government will have difficulty doing anything.
It depends … a “grand coalition” would be a strong coalition, but slow acting as they will be careful not to hurt their clients too much. On the other hand, it is the only coalition that can solve a less obvious problem: the clear definition of what is nation right/responsibility and what is land (state) right/responsibilty. If that is solved, then some of the intrinsic rigidness of the german system would be removed … and the removal of that rigidness is something all neo-liberals call for (and it will remove a lot of bureaucracy and save money).
So, the grand coalition has the chance to create a much better atmosphere / “playing field” for the next governments. I think that is worth more than wrecking our social systems when we can have similar material gain by the above.
Maybe this is the best thing that will happen to Germany? Many Americans prefer governmental gridlock, so that the government is unable to screw anything else up
The gridlock is why we had the early elections. We had different majorities in the houses, effectively blocking the legislative (apart from where we had to implement EU law … which polemic voices said where 90% of the laws passed last year and all passed unanimously).
The gridlock is something that is said to be “very bad” to Germany by the neo-liberal voices, because the “needed reforms” can’t be done.
Falk,
I like your optimistic view on how things will turn out, and hopefully this will result in better leadership for Germany. We will have to see what happens.
I guess my german mentality of constant pessimism was spoiled by my living aborad, in one of the most relaxed and optimistic countries ever. They also spoiled my will to decide for “work hard” when the other option is “sit in a beergarden in the sun with friends, have a beer and chat” :).
It’s good to broaden your horizons :D
