German Conservatives Suffer Setback in Hamburg State Poll

[reorg]

Source: DW-WORLD.DE (Deutsche Welle)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives lost their absolute majority in the Hamburg state elections on Sunday, exit polls showed, confirming a voter swing to the left ahead of federal elections next year.

Christian Democrat (CDU) Premier Ole von Beust, a Merkel ally who has ruled the port city since 2001, won 42.5 percent of the vote, down from 47 percent four years ago, an exit poll from ARD television showed.

The center-left Social Democrats (SPD) scored 34 percent in the exit poll, which represents a 4-point jump in comparison to last elections.

The vote in the northern city-state was seen as a key test of whether Chancellor Angela Merkel can stem a swing to the political left ahead of next year's national ballot.

With 6.5 percent, the Left party -- which emerged out of a splinter group of disgruntled SPD supporters and the heirs of the East German Communist Party -- will take up seats in the Hamburg parliament for the first time after gaining entry to three other western German legislature in the past year. ...

Read more: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3146815,00.html

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As with the state election in Hesse a few weeks ago, there will be a majority of seats among parties traditionally considered "left of center". The question is, will SPD and Greens find it in themselves to form a coalition with the Left party, or at least let the Left party tolerate a minority SPD/Greens government?

In Hamburg, a coalition of CDU (conservatives) and Greens seems more likely. Which may strengthen the Left even further.

For some more background on this see another article at DW:

(...) Until recently, the Left -- a far-left grouping which came out of a merger of a Social Democratic splinter group and the successor party to the former East German communists -- had been a political factor only in the country's eastern states.

However, it swept into the western state parliaments of Lower Saxony and Hesse on Jan. 27, signaling a breakthrough that is helping it increase its foothold. It's now part of eight of Germany's 16 state parliaments, and on the federal level, it's got over 50 parliamentarians in the 614-member Bundestag.

"The success of the Left have recognizably altered the discussions on policy in the other parties," said Renate Koecher of the Allensbach Institute for public opinion research.

"The efforts of the SPD to re-establish itself with leftist positions ... have brought it little benefit but have rather strengthened the Left," she said. (...)

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3141543,00.html

[DFW]

1. As long as the German "The Left" has such people as Oskar LaFontaine

As well as some who are unapologetic about the Berlin Wall and
those who were murdered trying to get out of the DDR, they will
be regarded as extremist versions of the Greens by many who would
otherwise be sympathetic to some of their positions. LaFontaine is
a publicity-seeking demagogue, and Gregor Gysi lost a very privileged
position when the DDR collapsed. He still goes on talk shows acting
like he and his buddies were in control. I'd even take Merkel over
those two, even if some of the company she keeps requires a large
clothespin for sensitive noses.

[reorg]

2. Sorry, that is ridiculous

1. Oskar Lafontaine (not LaFontaine): Without him, the Left Party would not be as successful as they are right now. For those who don't know, he had been the rising star of the center-left SPD in the eighties, long-time governor of the Saarland, candidate for Chancellor in 1990, and later chairman of the SPD (after it had become clear that with Scharping, the SPD would never win an election). He had always been a little ahead of his SPD comrades, however, taken a stand against atomic power, against the stationing of missiles, against the hasty "re"-unification among other things. Later, as Federal Minister of Finance he had the audacity to develop ideas of his own, was consequently snubbed by Schroeder, left the cabinet, and shortly thereafter the party. He is now chairman of the Left Party, which has become a force to reckon with since he has joined. Little wonder that certain people run amok and cry "demagogue" whenever he makes a poignant remark.

2. Gregor Gysi is well known for his brilliant rhetoric, his affable manner, and he had indeed ample opportunity to present himself ever since he had become chairman of the reformed communists in East Germany (in 1990, I believe). Despite the most vicious attacks against his character throughout all these years, he is probably the most popular politician of the Left Party. Which is to a certain extent due to his frequent participation in Talk shows on TV, no doubt.

3. Why they would have to apologize for the Berlin Wall is a complete mystery to me. What the hell do you mean? How the law against "Republikflucht" (flight of the republic) came about is of merely historical interest nowadays. The intention was, of course, to stop the massive brain drain from East to West, in a volatile cold-war situation. I'm not sure why "reformed post-communists" in the nineties, or the Left Party of today would have to be "apologetic" about that?

[reorg]

3. Final results

"... the CDU won 42.6 percent, according to final results, with the Social Democrats, or SPD, taking 34.1 percent.

The Greens won 9.6 percent and The Left 6.4 percent. Following two similar successes last month, Hamburg's will be the fourth western state legislature with Left lawmakers.

"What we have achieved in recent weeks is a terrific victory," senior party official Dietmar Bartsch said. "This shows that The Left is growing."

Von Beust's preferred coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats, failed to win the 5 percent needed to take parliamentary seats. The CDU won 56 seats, the SPD 45, the Greens 12 and The Left eight. ..."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/24/europe/EU-POL-Germany-State-Election.php