If Angela Merkel were an American, to which party would she belong?

[Antonio the Sixth]

centrist Republican (is there a fancy name for that? Red Cat?)

I think "Rockefeller Republican" is the standard, though it has some unfortunate connotations.

[Maxwell]

Rockefeller Republican seems like a perfect fit for Merkel, actually.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Rockefeller Republican seems like a perfect fit for Merkel, actually.

Actually, I'd agree with CrabCake and BRTD. Someone with her opportunism and obsession with finding "consensus" would most likely be one of those awful moderate-hero Democrats.

[Figueira]

She'd be so left-wing she'd be right-wing. #HorseshoeTheory

[Kingpoleon]

Anyone who doesn't think she would be a Republican along the lines of Kasich, Huntsman, Christie, Daniels, and Sandoval either needs some serious mental help or is one of those "Democrats are center-right in Europe!!!" people.

She'd be so left-wing she'd be right-wing. #HorseshoeTheory

That's not even how the Horshoe Theory works. If you really want to mock it, just call it "just a theory".

[Heisenberg]

I'd say moderate Democrat, especially with her views on health care and immigration/refugees.

[Intell]

Anyone who doesn't think she would be a Republican along the lines of Kasich, Huntsman, Christie, Daniels, and Sandoval either needs some serious mental help or is one of those "Democrats are center-right in Europe!!!" people.

She'd be so left-wing she'd be right-wing. #HorseshoeTheory

That's not even how the Horshoe Theory works. If you really want to mock it, just call it "just a theory".

Honestly, though while most European center-right politicians will be in the Republican Party, Merkel's moderate heroism, refugee policy, and a desire for unity, I think she'd me a moderate democrat, not a blue dog though.

[Maxwell]

the whole refugee policy thing would just put her on the pro-immigration reform side of the Republican Party.

[Figueira]

Honestly I think she'd be a Republican who can't win any primaries outside of Massachusetts and Vermont.

[Lechasseur]

Obviously Democratic

[Kingpoleon]

Anyone who doesn't think she would be a Republican along the lines of Kasich, Huntsman, Christie, Daniels, and Sandoval either needs some serious mental help or is one of those "Democrats are center-right in Europe!!!" people.

She'd be so left-wing she'd be right-wing. #HorseshoeTheory

That's not even how the Horshoe Theory works. If you really want to mock it, just call it "just a theory".

Honestly, though while most European center-right politicians will be in the Republican Party, Merkel's moderate heroism, refugee policy, and a desire for unity, I think she'd me a moderate democrat, not a blue dog though.

Oh really? David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Xavier Bettel, Alexander Stubb, Frederick Reinfeldt, and Mark Rutte would all be Republicans, but Merkel wouldn't?

[Skunk]

I'd say a Republican close to Murkowski and Collins.

[America Needs R'hllor]

A Susan Collins Republican or an Evan Bayh Democrat.

[mvd10]

Anyone who doesn't think she would be a Republican along the lines of Kasich, Huntsman, Christie, Daniels, and Sandoval either needs some serious mental help or is one of those "Democrats are center-right in Europe!!!" people.

She'd be so left-wing she'd be right-wing. #HorseshoeTheory

That's not even how the Horshoe Theory works. If you really want to mock it, just call it "just a theory".

Honestly, though while most European center-right politicians will be in the Republican Party, Merkel's moderate heroism, refugee policy, and a desire for unity, I think she'd me a moderate democrat, not a blue dog though.

Oh really? David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Xavier Bettel, Alexander Stubb, Frederick Reinfeldt, and Mark Rutte would all be Republicans, but Merkel wouldn't?

Rutte probably is to the right of Merkel on everything but abortion, LGBT rights and stuff like that. Dutch newspapers actually poll MP's during US presidential elections, and I think Rutte once said he would support Giuliani, but that he also liked both Obama and McCain (was in 2008 obviously). But these little polls don't mean much since Halbe Zijlstra said he supported Obama while he quite clearly is one of the most right-wing VVD politicians (if he wouldn't be a Republican no Dutch politician would be, I love the idea that he's going to be in charge of our welfare system soon). But "would politician X be party Y in country Z" threads are pointless, it's just better to look at the direction in which politicians want to take their country.

Anyway, my opinion on these things changed from last year obviously (and I think Merkel would be a Democrat now, even Germans don't consider her right-wing). CDU and CSU are still right-wing parties though, and I hope they go back to electing conservative leaders soon (even though that might mean a centre-left coalition, but eternal grand coalition sucks anyway).

[Bismarck]

Possibly a Susan Collins style republican or more likely an establishment centrist democrat. I do think she is more right wing than American media portrays her.

[Lechasseur]

Anyone who doesn't think she would be a Republican along the lines of Kasich, Huntsman, Christie, Daniels, and Sandoval either needs some serious mental help or is one of those "Democrats are center-right in Europe!!!" people.

She'd be so left-wing she'd be right-wing. #HorseshoeTheory

That's not even how the Horshoe Theory works. If you really want to mock it, just call it "just a theory".

Honestly, though while most European center-right politicians will be in the Republican Party, Merkel's moderate heroism, refugee policy, and a desire for unity, I think she'd me a moderate democrat, not a blue dog though.

Oh really? David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Xavier Bettel, Alexander Stubb, Frederick Reinfeldt, and Mark Rutte would all be Republicans, but Merkel wouldn't?

Rutte probably is to the right of Merkel on everything but abortion, LGBT rights and stuff like that. Dutch newspapers actually poll MP's during US presidential elections, and I think Rutte once said he would support Giuliani, but that he also liked both Obama and McCain (was in 2008 obviously). But these little polls don't mean much since Halbe Zijlstra said he supported Obama while he quite clearly is one of the most right-wing VVD politicians (if he wouldn't be a Republican no Dutch politician would be, I love the idea that he's going to be in charge of our welfare system soon). But "would politician X be party Y in country Z" threads are pointless, it's just better to look at the direction in which politicians want to take their country.

Anyway, my opinion on these things changed from last year obviously (and I think Merkel would be a Democrat now, even Germans don't consider her right-wing). CDU and CSU are still right-wing parties though, and I hope they go back to electing conservative leaders soon (even though that might mean a centre-left coalition, but eternal grand coalition sucks anyway).

I agree, especially with the last paragraph

[Former President tack50]

The funny thing is I can't even think of any policies of Merkel that are equivalent to Sanders' proposals, even disregarding the whole issues of political inertia favoring the status quo before someone comes in office and difficulty of an apples to apples comparison, things that lead to the idiocy of claiming things like "The NHS goes further than Sanders wants for healthcare so David Cameron or Theresa May are to the left of Sanders", which is kind of like saying that George W. Bush was more left wing than FDR. But for Merkel, even based on that flimsy logic it doesn't work.

For example the minimum wage in Germany is 1,473 Euros a month. That comes out to about 340 a week, so if one works a 40 hour week about 8.5/hour. That converts to a bit less than $9.50/hour. Hmmm, a far cry from $15/hour.

And the German healthcare system is still based around private insurance companies and is basically just a boosted version of Obamacare. It's nothing like Sanders' proposal and single-payer.

And talking about policies towards banks...we don't even need to go there.

About the minimum wage thing, you have to keep in mind that in general, Europe has a lower cost of living than the US. So those 9.5$/h in Berlin are equivalent to 12.6$/h in Philadelphia, a city comparable to Berlin.

[Former President tack50]

Anyways, I'd probably say Republican, but she'd be by far one of the most moderate members.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Moderate Democrat. Kind of like Bill Clinton.

I'd really place only members of the CDU's conservative wing within the GOP, and Merkel isn't of the CDU's conservative wing.

[SNJ1985]

Moderate, establishment Democrat.