2011 State Elections in Germany

[Tender Branson]

I wonder how males between 18 and 24 will vote. 20% Pirate?

I´m 24 and male and would vote for the Pirate Party in Berlin, so probably yeah ...

But the the exit polls will show that anyway.

[Franzl]

I'm male, 21, and consider the Pirates only relevant for my personal amusement

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm male, 18, and consider the Pirates only relevant for my personal amusement

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

Die Linke seems to do 20% better in former East Germany.

[Franzl]

Die Linke seems to do 20% better in former East Germany.

Well yes, of course. They are former East German communists, after all.

[republicanism]

Ugh. If the Pirates really make it we are looking forward to some very annoying weeks of media lovefest.

Anyways, there two new and very encouraging polls on the national level:

Infratest dimap / ARD
Union: 35 (--)
SPD: 30 (+2)
Greens: 18 (-2)
FDP: 3 (-1)
Leftist: 7 (--)
Others: 7 (+1)

Forschungsgruppe Wahlen / ZDF
Union: 34 (--)
SPD: 30 (+1)
Greens: 20 (--)
FDP: 4 (--)
Leftist: 6 (-1)
Others: 6 (--)

[Franzl]

Seeing the Left at 6-7% almost makes me satisfied with these poll results....considering the current government. Almost.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Over 30%? It's been a while since that was last recorded.

[republicanism]

Over 30%? It's been a while since that was last recorded.

Yes. The last time any institute had the SPD that - relatively - strong was about one year ago, right before the first huge Green hype.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Die Linke seems to do 20% better in former East Germany.

Um, yeah, and Utah votes Republican.

[minionofmidas]

Renate Künast and a tame Plattenbau-rooted Left in government are all the incitement anyone should need to vote Pirate.

[minionofmidas]

Lolwut.

[tpfkaw]

Lolwut.

The Polish government wants to build a nuclear power plant.

[Insula Dei]

Lolwut.

The Polish government wants to build a nuclear power plant.

That'd explain what was the occasion for this poster, not why its worldview is so comically warped.

[republicanism]

The NPD has always had some environmentalist / green leaning on such issues.
Usually no one (especially not the NPD voters) care, but in the current pro-Green political climate and the very anti-nuclear energy-sentiment in Germany, the NPD may try to capitalize on that.


Besides, the third German pollster (Emnid) shows the same trend:

CDU/CSU: 33 (+1)
SPD: 30 (+2)
Greens: 19 (-2)
FDP: 4 (--)
Left Party: 8 (--)
Others: 6 (-1)

[minionofmidas]

The NPD has always had some environmentalist / green leaning on such issues.
Usually no one (especially not the NPD voters) care, but in the current pro-Green political climate and the very anti-nuclear energy-sentiment in Germany, the NPD may try to capitalize on that.

'specially since it could be tied in with anti-Polish sentiment in this case.

It's not as if Poland plans to build nuclear power plants on the German border, btw.

[Middle-aged Europe]

It's not as if Poland plans to build nuclear power plants on the German border, btw.

Well, according to the NPD the German border is located a little more to the east anyway. So German territory as it is defined by the NPD could perhaps be contaminated after all.

[Franzl]

Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) had local elections yesterday throughout the state:

The statewide results were:

CDU 37.0 (-4.0)
SPD 34.9 (-1.7)
Grüne 14.3 (+6.5)
FDP 3.4 (-3.3)
Linke 2.4 (+1.5)


One interesting story:

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A Dutch citizen only barely failed to make European Union history by winning an election in the town of Nordhorn on the Dutch border. The town has 53,000 residents...and the CDU/FDP supported Dutch candidate lost by 56 votes.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The rules are that you have to post a link to the results

[Franzl]

The rules are that you have to post a link to the results

I can do that. It's actually quite well done with their maps:

http://www.aktuelle-wahlen-niedersachsen.de/KW2011/kommunalwahlen_2011.html

[Tender Branson]

Or here:

http://www.nordhorn.de/web/ftp_wahl/456015_000042/index.html

[minionofmidas]

Nordhorn and the surrounding country had a surprising amount of Dutch immigration in the late 19th and early 20th century (as did parts of the western Ruhr, especially Duisburg, and the Lower Rhine - Kleve etc - but that's less surprising even though forgotten today. Ente Lippens is technically a Dutchman - limited to a single cap by not being able to speak Dutch. Rainer Bonhof's father was a Dutch immigrant too.) In the case of Nordhorn etc though, the combination of sizable Dutch population, shape of the border, and existence of untapped natural gas deposits (that turned out not as great as rumored then) actually led to half-serious Dutch territorial claims in the immediate post WWII era.

[republicanism]

Fun fact:
Nordhorn has also elected for decades, and did so yesterday, the only city councillor(s) of the German Communist Party in all Lower Saxony.

[Franzl]

Fun fact:
Nordhorn has also elected for decades, and did so yesterday, the only city councillor(s) of the German Communist Party in all Lower Saxony.

I live quite close to....probably....the strongest DKP village in the country

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Is there any reason why the DKP hasn't merged back into the mother party?