A New German Government
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
It appears to be official and this article informs me that Angela Merkel should not be taken for granted since she is a "learning machine" and since she plays the long game. Well . . . okay, but when you squander an electoral lead as big as the one she started out with and when you are very nearly outclassed in the negotiations over the creation of a new government, it isn't exactly a performance that inspires confidence.
It is good news that Edmund Stoiber (a.k.a. "The Person Who Should Be Chancellor Since He Would Have A Fighting Chance Of Doing Well In Electoral Contests") will be the economics minister. It is bad news that he will have almost no running room whatsoever to enact much needed economic reforms.
I ask anew: What was the point of the German elections? The losers turned out to be winners in terms of representation in the ministerial lineup and in terms of dictating policy. The winners are only winners in name and in possession of what increasingly seems to be a worthless chancellery.
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A New German Government 6 Comments (0 topical, 6 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
I personally wanted to see a minority coalition set up between the Social Democrats and the Greens, just so that, after two years of gridlock, the Parliament is dissolved, ultimately giving the CDU/CSU more power... Either that or try to piece together a "Schwampel" or "Jamaican" coalition by coaxing the Greens into a coalition with the CDU/CSU and the Free Democrats... not likely, I know, but even possibly throwing the Greens the occasional ministerial spot wouldn't be so bad if it meant the Christian Democrats could have a relatively stable coalition...
"I ask anew: What was the point of the German elections? The losers turned out to be winners in terms of representation in the ministerial lineup and in terms of dictating policy. The winners are only winners in name and in possession of what increasingly seems to be a worthless chancellery."
Kind of like American politics....
Oh yeah, because George Bush and Dennis Hastert do exactly what the Democrats would do.
No difference at all. Same tax policy, same spending priorities, same diplomatic tactics, even the same Supreme Court picks.
That John Roberts is just another Breyer, isn't he? And what about Janice Rogers Brown, that's the most Clintonian Circuit Court pick of all!
In the interests of fairness, the left did get considerably more votes than the right. It is only the fact that the socialists in Germany refuse to have anything to do with the Communists that gave the CDU any claim on the government. The Germans are getting what they deserve. Even their so-called right is nothing more than socialist lite. From a forign policy perspective, this is welcome change. But if you want the party that will revive the German economy to take power, you'll have to keep waiting, because such a party doesn't even exist over there.
Stoiber had his chance, and with him at the helm the CDU and CSU had fewer sats than the SDP. So, I don't know why you seem to think he's any better than Merkel.
What's the net effect of this election? The Greens are out of power. I can't imagine that an SDP Foreign Minister under a CDU Chancellor will be as anti-American as a Green Foreign Minster under an SDP Chancellor.
But yes, parliamentary systems are horrible.