German federal election (September 18, 2005)

[freek]

I'm assuming that that would be "The Left Party, PDS" if used in America and the period is because of the European writing of usings periods and commas the opposite as Americans do?

Even though I like the look of a period here better than a comma, I still think it looks really dumb when a comma is used for a decimal point.

Only in numbers there is a difference in the use of comma and periods between Americans and Europeans. Not in texts.

I think they used a period here to make it look like a URL, so it looks modern and new. In the oldfashioned way, the new combination might have been called Die Linke-PDS or Die Linke/PDS.

[freek]

The Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany feels at a disadvantage in obtaining the required handful of signatures to get on the ballot due to the early elections, and wants the number lowered.

How much is a handful in this case?

[freek]

I've checked since, and it's not really a handful. It's not as bad as in Texas (view the Chris Bell trailing Kinky Friedman thread), but it's 2000 signatures per state to get on the ballot in that state, less for the 5 smallest states. For a direct candidacy, it's 200 signatures from the constituency.
Those parties with at least 1 Bundestag member or at least 5 Landtag members nationally are exempt.

Good Lord. It's 30 autographs per electoral district in the Netherlands (19 districts in total), and it was raised from 10 autographs per district only 7 years ago. But you have to place your autograph in city hall, not on the street or at home.

[freek]

Any idea on the possiblilty on a Grüne-Links-SPD coalition?

Defect from the SPD and form a coalition with them a few months later? Sounds unlikely to me.

And I don't think that many West Germans would enjoy a government with the SED PDS Linkspartei either.

[freek]

FDP is the big surprise. CDU-CSU too

Yeah. The CDU-CSU result is crap. I think a lot of traditional CDU-voters gave their first vote to the CDU-candidate and their second vote to the FDP-list. To show their support of a black-yellow coalition.

[freek]

What is the Left Party?  Why shouldn't this result mean a SPD/Green/Left coalition?

The Left Party consists of two parts. One part is the PDS, the former East German communist party. Quite strong in former East Germany, weak in the rest of the country.

The other part is the WASG, a new movement. It consists of former SPD members who left the SPD because it wasn't left enough.

[freek]

An especial mention goes to the town of Sosa, in Annaberg - Aue-Schwarzenberg district.
There's a party in Germany called the Partei Bibeltreuer Christen. They've been around for ages, never had any success. In Saxony this year, they polled 0.6%. Well, look at Sosa:
CDU 48.4% SPD 15.4% Left 12.9% FDP 9.6% PBC 5.6% NPD 5.1% Greens 1.8%

According to a document I found on Google the PBC scored 8% in Sosa at the last Landtag election.

Is the party leader maybe from Sosa? Or is there some kind of Calvinist Church, because the party looks similar to the Dutch ChristenUnie-program.

edit: I think this explains something: http://www.elfk.de/hartenstein/geschichte.html. There is a breakaway Lutheran Church in Sosa.

Btw, were the PBC and the NPD the only minor parties who scored remarkable results?

[freek]

Great, a party receives less votes than expected, and as a reward they receive an extra seat.

[freek]

Current results of the Dresden I by-election (234 of 260 precincts counted)

Franz Schönhuber (NPD): 2.4%

Question: Is this THE Franz Schönhuber? As in former leader of the Republikaner-Party?

[freek]

So, SDP takes all the ministires that would be needed for actual reforms?
I can gather that this will be nothing than the continuation of SDP politics by other means.

And because Merkel will be Chancellor, she will be blamed when the reforms don't have the expected results. Sounds like a fair deal. .

[freek]

I predict that towards the end of the Grand coalition's term all three smaller parties will poll between 15% and 20%, hahaha.

Which will make a "Small coalition" of Grüne/Linke/FDP possible. .

[freek]

Bus services have not broken down as a result yet.

God punishes with a delay?

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