German Federal Election

Oh my God! The voter’s cake has been split up and the Social Democrats only get the crumbs. The Grand Coalition is over – the new German government will be formed by Christian Democrats and Liberals.
The final official result of the German federal elections is the following:

As expected, fewer voters than ever before (72.5% vs 77.7% in 2005) have decided to give Germany a shot at what will be change and continuation in the same time.   The results were a deep shock for anybody who sees beyond his own personal interests.
Continuity, since Angela Merkel will remain Chanc…

I’m not a naturally born campaigner. My DNA is more about the rational view of the world. However I’m a human being, a political animal and one of the greatest fans of the various genres of theatre.
As such, I do have quite solid experience on what works ‘on stage’ and I’m also known to have a bastic instinct alerting me in which direction a threat might come. May…

The strongest fighter for Angela Merkel can still be found in the opposition. Guido Westerwelle, Chairman of the Liberals, is storming through this election campaign as if the well-being of the republic would depend on him.
And maybe this is even the case. No doubt, the closer we get to the election, the closer Angela Merkel’s fate is to that of Guido Westerwelle.
It could be worse for the chancellor in an electi…

The boredom of this year’s election campaign could not be greater! Historians will look back on the second Grand Coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany by evaluating its work quite positively – but they will also speak of the most boring election campaign ever.
Against everyone’s expectation, even the soliloquy of the Federal Government duri…

Chancellor Angela Merkel (Christian Democrat) and her challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Social Democrat) just met in their only scheduled TV duel in the present election campaign. Most interesting was the posturing of the combatants because Mr Steinmeier is not only Merkels’s challenger but also, as Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Grand Coalition, her deputy, as well.
The three opposition parti…

It’s going terribly bad for Angela Merkel and it’s not sure whether the news having been brought last week by GM-boss Henderson in a personal call to Chancellor Merkel will really make the change back to better polls for the Conservatives…
Latest polls say: Conservatives significantly loose ground. Social democrats do not win remarkably. Liberals slightly up. Greens stable. Socialists win m…

What the great majority of German people feared most has happened: the military operation in Afghanistan has become the subject of the election campaign in Germany. And even worse, it is the first real concrete, pictorial and emotional subject in this election campaign.
A German officer demanded an air attack of NATO bombers against two tank trucks kidnapped by Taliban groups, possibly not knowing that innumerab…

Finally. – Finally Angela Merkel gave the speech all Germany has awaited for weeks. Yes, all Germany. Her supporters as well as her opponents. The former to finally see her fighting and to feel the spirit of an election campaign. The latter to see her as a real political target instead of being forced to watch her doing daily chancellor work as if nothing changes the diary of her majesty.
Now, finally, the speech s…

The Washington Post has a story today about the plight of Social Democrats in Europe that focuses on the German elections.  It’s not a pretty sight.  The story notes irony in the fact that the Social Democrats predicted the risks to the economy of the deregulatory policies of the Christian Democrats, but the  Socialists are getting not credit for their wise policies.  Instead, the story predicts they are head…

Germany has a complicated political structure. Democracy is not always a funny game and the current situation reminds us of the famous German poet Bertolt Brecht quote. “The people have lost the confidence of the government; the government has decided to dissolve the people, and to appoint another one.”
But as long as the PEOPLE elect the governments, democracy will not become easier and Germany not f…

Our two intrepid correspondents in Berlin have been conducing a traditional debate between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats.  Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, old ways are breaking down in the countryside.  Regional elections held this past Sunday suggest some new alliances.  In fact, while  Chancellor Angela Merkel leads a conservative government, it appears that the Greens hold t…

Karl-Theodor M. N. J. J. P. F. J. S. Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg – a problem the Social Democrats have to increasingly address. Remarkable beside his name and self-confidence of course is the fact that he topped chancellor Merkel in the national popularity scale – something no one else has managed.
For quite some time, the Christian Democrats were searching for a counterpart to Peer Steinbrück, the social democra…

If Angela Merkel wins the election, it will happen due to an attractive young man who matches her own popularity. Someone who used to be a nobody and became a political pop star within a few months. Who managed along the way to become more popular than the chancellor herself, something no one else managed during the whole legislative session. And who, if we are not completely mistaken, might fight the querulousness tow…

How happy I am that the election campaign can finally begin, now that also the Christian Democrats, especially chancellor Merkel, were friendly enough to return from their holidays – 7 weeks before the election will take place. Okay, maybe the fact that the CDU is 17% ahead of the Social Democrats in present polls contributes to the relaxed attitude with which they approach the election campaign.

You can tell there is an election campaign going on, if the wolfs are dressed in the prettiest sheep’s clothing and if even the stupidest lamb discovers the fake. By now the lambs are only yawning and leave the leading wolfs among themselves even on the day of the election.
Never before voter participation in Germany was as low as for the election of the European Parliament in June 2009. The significance that involvemen…

Germany’s economy is emerging from the worst recession in the least 60 years. This economic and financial crisis is also affecting the election campaign. The two biggest parties (CDU and SPD) are especially focusing on new jobs and the handling of the crisis.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) is challenged by Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD). She is leading in all opinion polls as her party CDU does (38% CDU vs. 21% SPD; A…