[Germany] New election looms as Greens reject Merkel

[arcos]

New election looms as Greens reject Merkel

Schröder could stay as chancellor until poll in new year

Luke Harding in Berlin
Tuesday September 20, 2005
The Guardian

The chances of Angela Merkel becoming Germany's next chancellor suffered a setback yesterday when the Greens appeared to rule out joining a coalition with her conservative CDU party.

With the country in political gridlock after Sunday's inconclusive general election, speculation was growing last night that the chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, would try to force new elections early next year.

A day of political horse-trading left Europe's most populous country facing months of confusion. No government is likely to emerge until November at the earliest. Both the main party leaders announced that they had begun talks with smaller parties in an attempt to cobble together a coalition government.

An exhausted-looking Mrs Merkel urged Mr Schröder's Social Democrats to accept that they were "not the strongest group" in Germany's new parliament and therefore had no right to form a government. She said she had "initiated contacts" with other parties, and was prepared to talk to all groups apart from the Left party.

<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,2763,1573905,00.html?gusrc=rss

[truebrit71]

1. Sounds like Germany found their Margaret Thatcher impersonator...

...:eyes:

What is it with the right-wingers? They claim mandates when even IDIOTS can see none exist...

[burrowowl]

2. That is the truth! LOL

[Mairead]

6. You'd think that after watching what happened to the UK and US

under Thatcher, Reagan, et seq., the Germans, who've already been burnt to a crisp once by vicious rightwing politicians, would positively run screaming from the Merkels.

[Dancing_Dave]

3. Here's a much more insiteful Guardian article on this subject!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,2763,1574038,00.html

Yep, this vote was total rejection of the whole neo-liberal vs. neo-con stupidity. Neither one will do humanity any good whatsoever at this point.

[1932]

4. neoliberal and neoconseravative mean the same thing.

Although Schroeder is strying to harness the power of the marketplace to create a functioning, fair society, that is not the same thing as neoliberalism. China and India are also turning to market economies, and that doesn't make, at least, China neoliberal. Venezuela is also very much interested in working within a market economy with no central planning.

Neoliberalism is about exploiting the marketplace to make the wealthy extremely wealthy at the cost of healthy, functioning, fair, free societies.

[German-Lefty]

5. I voted SPD

I was kind of hoping for this result. The big parties have been talking crap about each other. Their programs aren't that far apart. They should just shut up and cut a deal. The thing is they all promised they wouldn't cut a deal.

[xchrom]

7. yes -- watching deutche-welle last night

was amusing.

i don't want to see merkel in power -- but schroeder brought so much of this confusion on his own head.

[T_i_B]

8. Question...

How does the prospect of another general election sometime soon grab you?

I must admit I'm quite confused myself about the German election results and if Gerhard Schröder tries to force new elections early next year then that might be a solution but it might well leave Germans sick to death of politicians!

(well that's the effect general elections have on me anyway)

[Hav]

9. .

Personally I wouldn't mind voting a second time. I also know several people who are 17 and did really regret that they were deprived of the possibility to vote because of the early elections.

As Kirchhof will probably leave, I am not sure whether Red/Green would really be able to win it in a new election. The opposite could be the case as well.

On the other side, the participation in the elections seems to be decreasing and one generally doesn't mind when the elections are over. I believe it was around 82% in 1998, 79% in 2002 and now it was below 78%.
Once there were elections with around 90% participation in the seventies.

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. If we get 53% participation in the US

The media calls it a miracle and a "heavily contested fight."

Fifty......Three......Percent of eligible voters!

[German-Lefty]

11. Not sure I want another election.

The elected have an obligation to at least try to build a government. If they can't do that well, ok. If it is clear that one side is deliberately being hard headed, or just wants new elections to see if it can win more seats, it should be punished.

I'm sick of hearing politicians bitch at each other. I kind of hoped for this result, because it means they're going to have to swallow their pride and take some responsibility.

If we have another election, I'll probably just vote SPD again. Though I might consider tactically voting the Left party just to force the other four into the same situation where they have to cut a deal.

[T_i_B]

17. "I'm sick of hearing politicians bitch at each other."

Yep, that's the usual response after a general election. After a few weeks of campaigning and wall to wall media coverage I think most people get heartily fed up with politicians of all stripes. And that's the main worry for me if a re-run is needed.

[Kellanved]

12. the Guardian doesn't get German politics

In fact the Guardian doesn't get Germany at all, which puts it in good company.

Basically nothing is clear yet. The parties have to stay firm for at least a week in order to not appear as cheap sellouts.
The interesting part will start in 10 days and is most likely to end in a grand coalition(with neither Merkel nor Schröder). While I do not like that constellation, I have to concede the point that Germany has been reigned by a de-facto grand coalition for the past four years.
The empty party war chests alone make a tolerated minority government more likely than new elections in the very near future.

But well: anything can happen, nothing is certain.

[trogdor]

13. Frau Ferkel ist kaput.

Es tut mir so leid...NICHT.

I don't know what the final breakdown was, but my impression is that the CDU has no more or less mandate than the SPD. It should come down to who can form the strongest coalition, but it seems even that may be impossible. I think Frau Ferkel's "urging" Schroeder to "get over it" is a manifestation of the realization that the CDU may not prevail in a revote.

/ a "ferkel" is a pig in the Swabian dialect one might hear around Stuttgart.

[Kellanved]

15. Alas, one thing is certain: Merkel would not prevail in a revote.

She has a very short timeframe to form a government, or else...

Her standing in her party always was shaky, now she's about to topple.

[Minstrel Boy]

14. Everyone seen this float of Merkel last year,

emerging triumphant from Uncle Sam's ass?

[malaise]

16. That float is hysterically funny

Maybe SPD should start speaking with the left before the next election.