German federal election (September 18, 2005)

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Hmmm, if the 3 smaller parties manage to regularly reach the requirements for proportional seats and a subsequent necessary grand coalition becomes a regular necessity, this could start a new discussion about the whole election system.

Btw, a really odd rumour has come up now... according to a newspaper report Merkel allegedly plans to hold another election in the case that CDU/CSU and FDP won't win a majority on this sunday. Either some journalists are taking some really good drugs or Merkel is starting to lose her mind. I'll wait for a confirmation or denial from the CDU. Boy, is this election f***ed up.

"Starting"?

Angela Merkel is a disappointment in many ways, but in no sense is she *crazy*, unless your definition of "sane" includes the press releases of Oskar Lafontaine and his merry band of east German marxists.

Anyway, what is the big deal about holding another parliamentary election if a majority is not reached? The British used to run one general election after another, sometimes only weeks apart, until one party/faction gained an upper hand. Yes, the German system is not quite so flexible, but nothing in the Constitution rules it out -- the maximum duration of a term is set to five years, but there is no minimum duration.

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I wonder why the CDU did *comparatively* well in Schleswig-Holstein compared to the rest of northern Germany.

EDIT: And one SH district represented by Count Bismarck!

But as the results stand, Schroeder will of course renege on his pre-election promise to not enter a coalition with the Marxists and the haters in Die Linkspartei if it means not having to form a "grand" coalition. Schroeder = the personal worst of Gore and Clinton combined.

What this election means, though, is that Germans by and large are afraid to death of electing a government capable of enacting even the most trifiling of economic reforms (e.g. means-testing the pension program, relaxing labor regulations, etc.).

This election is of course great news for Wladynowo, Poland, though, which could use the influx of new German jobs.

[Storebought]

I am not a German or German-based, but I believe the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, is a major Bavarian paper (in fact, I would guess, the major Bavarian paper).  Should be reliable, especially on CSU.

Having the ability to read "some" German, I can assure you:

The Sueddeutsche is an organ of the Social Democrats. Pretty baldly so, in fact.