Merkel Needs Opposition Support To Rule Despite Historic Win
Source: dpa-AFX Wirtschaftsnachrichten
BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Despite winning the German parliamentary election, the ruling conservative coalition has finished just short of an absolute majority, leaving it with the difficult task of seeking the support of the Opposition Social Democrats for a grand coalition.
The conservative bloc led by Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) won 41.8 percent of votes in Sunday's election to the Bundestag, Lower House of the German Parliament. It was their strongest performance since 1990, but the world's most powerful lady politician now faces the unsavory prospect of having to court her leftist arch-rivals -- the main Opposition, the Social Democrats (SPD) -- to rule the biggest European economy for a historic third term...
... It was the poor showing by her junior coalition partner - the Free Democrats - that put Merkel in a tight corner. With only 4.8 percent, short of the five percent threshold required to win any seats, the party will have no national representation in Parliament for the first time in Germany's post-war history.
The Social Democrat's Green allies have won 8.4 percent, while the hardline Left Party secured an 8.6 percent vote share. Nonetheless, the center-left parties insist they would not join with the Left Party to form an alliance...
Read more: http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2013-09/28080519-merkel-needs-opposition-support-to-rule-despite-historic-win-020.htm
Democracyinkind
(4,015 posts)The SPD has become the CDU and vice versa, no independent voter can distuinguish them.
Meanwhile the neoliberals that gave Merkel her chance to go at it alone have been voted out of parliamentary existence by losing all their votes to the Eurosceptics, who also fell short of the parliamentary entry hurdle. Bye Bye to both of you, I won't miss your sorry lot - try to understand that the liberal tradition that you claim to be fighting for is more than just carrying water for corporations, remember that you can be liberal on social issues too. ( A liberal party, ruled by a gay man for years, that can't bring itself to embrace marriage equality is not representative of what Germans want from liberals.)
The only positive thing from my point of view is that Gysi keeps gaining, in 4-8 years his party won't be marginalized anymore and will become a potential partner in a left- oriented gov.
Steinbrück was a weak candidate, with a weak campaign - his last minute schmoozing of the leftist element in the SPD didn't fool anyone. After all, why vote for a fake Merkel when you can vote for the real one.
SPD, läutere Dich. Live up to the fact that people only vote for you when you have discernible differences to the ruling party. The Schröder approach with its third wayish overtones and policies has failed you. You might keep on making small gains like today but you'll never get another shot at ruling Germany. Stop the centrist alliance and tell the German people what the CDU really stands for - focus on Merkel and the gays, Merkel and minimum wage, Merkel and Europe. Do not consent to a grand coalition or you'll be as toast as the FDP in 4 years.
Ghost Dog
(16,881 posts)I meet and socialise with plenty of (usually, 'genX' or younger) Germans here in the Canary Islands and, curiously, none show any inclination to discuss politics... national, European nor geopolitical... at least not with me (a Brit)?
Except for an older friend from the city of Hamburg (of my post-war generation). But then, she's another once-upon-a-time hippy survivor.
shotten99
(622 posts)if they form a grand coalition, it will likely mean a care-taker government. This means nothing drastically ideological will be implemented.
iandhr
(6,852 posts)MissHoneychurch
(33,600 posts)and the SPD lost in that cycle even though they helped it work. So they don't really want to be part of a Grand Coalition with Merkel. And neither do the Greens.
It will be interesting who will be the coalition partner
iandhr
(6,852 posts)MissHoneychurch
(33,600 posts)is her only other choice. And between them there are too many differences.
Not sure about a minority government
MissHoneychurch
(33,600 posts)shotten99
(622 posts)But in the likely event of a grand coalition, she can keep skategoating on Schroeder and the SPD could suffer as badly as they did the last time around. It might be better off for them to force a re-vote and to "let" Union get their absolute majority.