2009 State and Federal elections in Germany

[Middle-aged Europe]

It's *probably* just traditional Kubicki pantomime independence, but there are serious noises out of Schleswig-Holstein of the possibility of CDU and FDP failing to agree on a coalition.

This would be very funny , but I don't think this happen. Wolfgang Kubicki is a little maniac but he isn't stupid.

What would be the alternative anyway? SPD/FDP/Greens? Early elections? Grand coalition without Carstensen or Stegner (or both)?

[minionofmidas]

Grand coalition without Carstensen or Stegner (or both)?

I'm for another Grand Coalition with both! To be followed by new elections in 18 months. There's got to be some way to get the combined tally of those two parties under 40% of the vote dammit.

[Hans-im-Glück]

Grand coalition without Carstensen or Stegner (or both)?

I'm for another Grand Coalition with both! To be followed by new elections in 18 months. There's got to be some way to get the combined tally of those two parties under 40% of the vote dammit.

I see you want a Green-FDP-Linke government

[minionofmidas]

Grand coalition without Carstensen or Stegner (or both)?

I'm for another Grand Coalition with both! To be followed by new elections in 18 months. There's got to be some way to get the combined tally of those two parties under 40% of the vote dammit.

I see you want a Green-FDP-Linke government

Green-Linke-SSW would be more my cup of tea.

[Hans-im-Glück]

Grand coalition without Carstensen or Stegner (or both)?

I'm for another Grand Coalition with both! To be followed by new elections in 18 months. There's got to be some way to get the combined tally of those two parties under 40% of the vote dammit.

I see you want a Green-FDP-Linke government

Green-Linke-SSW would be more my cup of tea.

They wouldn't get a majority in Schleswig-Holstein, even if this would come out that the CDU, SPD and FDP get their money through the sale of drugs

[minionofmidas]

It is time to say "Thank you, FDP". Zensursula has been stopped. For now anyhow.

[Middle-aged Europe]

I guess it's Cabinet nomination day. A lot of the CDU personnel is simply switching positions though.


CDU

Wolfgang Schäuble: moves from Interior to Finance

Thomas de Maizière: moves from the Chancellery to Interior

Ronald Pofalla: the CDU secretary general is promoted to the Chancellery

Franz Josef Jung: moves from Defence to Labour (also a demotion for his handling of Afghanistan)

Ursula von der Leyen: probably remains at Family (wanted to have Health; however, since the CSU got an additional ministry the FDP is pushing hard for four or even five ministries, and one of them is Health)

Norbert Röttgen: the current CDU/CSU party whip in the Bundestag is mentioned for Environment, still unconfirmed


CSU

Karl-Theodor von Guttenberg: moves from Economy to Defence

Ilse Aigner: remains at Agriculture

Peter Ramsauer: the current leader of the CSU group in the Bundestag takes over Transportation


FDP

Guido Westerwelle: becomes foreign minister and vice chancellor, obviously

Rainer Brüderle: the former economics minister of Rhineland-Palatinate takes over Economy

Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger: the blast from the past, Helmut Kohl's former justice minister seems to take over her old ministry again

Philipp Rösler: the current economics minister of Lower Saxony seems to take over Health, first German Federal Minister of Asian (Vietnamese) descent, with 36 years probably also the youngest member of the new cabinet


Open/undecided

Education: CDU and FDP are still fighting over that one, I guess; FDP deputy chairwomen Cornelia Pieper and incumbent Annette Schavan (CDU) are seen as the front-runners

Economic Cooperation and Development (Foreign Aid): no name is mentioned here yet, maybe Schavan gets dumped there if she loses her ministry, I also heard speculations that Westerwelle wants to merge this ministry with his own Foreign Affairs

[minionofmidas]

Wolfgang Schäuble: moves from Interior to Finance

Surprising. Can't do as much harm there, anyhow.

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Replace "interior" with "finance", and I'd have called that "not news".

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The guy ought to be given a ministry for winegrowing and shady dealings - his two main areas of expertise. (He wanted agriculture four years ago, and basically had no clue of the job he got. Did well for that.)

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Does he have any credentials for that post? I dread to think.

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Whoa!

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Pretty reasonable.

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Lol.

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This could have been so much worse. Whew.

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Interesting. Rösler basically did the FDP side of coalition talks on that issue. (He was adopted as a baby war orphan, btw. Hence the lack of a Vietnamese name.)

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An essentially pointless job as the feds got f-all powers on that count.

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Yeah, either makes a certain amount of sense.

[Hans-im-Glück]

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Every time when I see him I think about "Das kleine Arschloch"

And to Guttenberg. It seems everyone thinks he is a specialist for everything. I don't think that, but he comes from Upper Franconia and then he can't be so bad

[Middle-aged Europe]

The two remaining ministries are settled.

Education: Annette Schavan stays

Foreign Aid: FDP secretary general Dirk Niebel

[Middle-aged Europe]

And to Guttenberg. It seems everyone thinks he is a specialist for everything. I don't think that, but he comes from Upper Franconia and then he can't be so bad

Well, Guttenberg had actually worked on foreign and defence policy when he was still an obscure little Bundestag member. He hadn't had any prior experience with economy though.

And Niebel's appointment is kind of bizarre (but also funny), considering that the abolishment of his new ministry was part of the FDP's campaign platform.

[minionofmidas]

Foreign Aid: FDP secretary general Dirk Niebel

Now where is that emoticon... ah. here:

[Hans-im-Glück]

Foreign Aid: FDP secretary general Dirk Niebel

Now where is that emoticon... ah. here:

I feel the same

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Just a side note, just slightly relative to the conv':

Amusing to see that arte opened its evening news on Jean Sarkozy renouncing to his promised job, and only after spoke about the new German govt.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Foreign Aid: FDP secretary general Dirk Niebel

Now where is that emoticon... ah. here:

I feel the same

You have to appreciate the positive aspect: You probably won't his face on TV for the next four years.

[Lief 🗽]

Why does there need to be a minister for finance and a minister for the economy?

[Hans-im-Glück]

Why does there need to be a minister for finance and a minister for the economy?

I think this is tradition and German Governments are normally a coalition. Many politicians need a job when you build a coalition between 2 or 3 parties

You have to appreciate the positive aspect: You probably won't his face on TV for the next four years.

Yeah, you are right. Every bad thing have a good side too

[Middle-aged Europe]

Why does there need to be a minister for finance and a minister for the economy?

I think Finance deals primarily with the budget, the taxes, and the spending. And Economy deals with the general state of the economy and the businesses.

So basically it's the finance minister's job to ensure that the government has enough money, and it's the economics minister's job to ensure that private companies can make make enough money.

[minionofmidas]

The economics ministry is not very powerful. The finance ministry OTOH is one of the most important jobs around, but not a stepping stone to bigger things because finance ministers tend to get associated with bad news.

Maybe the best US translation for the econ job is Commerce?

[Tender Branson]

There are 2 new polls out for the May 9, 2010 NRW state elections (Germany's biggest state):

Infratest-dimap for WDR

CDU: 36% (-9 compared with 2005)
SPD: 30% (-7)
Greens: 11% (+5)
FDP: 10% (+4)
Left: 8% (+5)
Others: 5% (+2)

49-46 Majority for Red-Red-Green.

Forsa for RTL & Stern

CDU: 41% (-4 compared with 2005)
SPD: 31% (-6)
Greens: 9% (+3)
FDP: 9% (+3)
Left: 6% (+3)
Others: 4% (+1)

50-46 Majority for Black-Yellow.

[Tender Branson]

Just saw that NRW would get its first woman governor with Hannelore Kraft, if the SPD can somehow form a coalition after the elections:



Don`t know though what her position on a Red-Red-Green government is and if the Greens and the Left even want such a coalition.

[Franzl]

I wouldn't mind Rüttgers losing actually.

[KuntaKinte]

I'm afraid the Left will mess it up again if they get a majority. I don't see Red-Red-Green in NRW.

[Franzl]

I'm afraid the Left will mess it up again if they get a majority. I don't see Red-Red-Green in NRW.

OK, now you have found a way to get me to support Rüttgers

[Tender Branson]

The German Government gets also more female. The idiot Jung is now out as Labour Minister and was replaced with Ursula von der Leyen, who was Minister for Families. The new Minister for Families is now Kristina Köhler, Bundestag-member from Hessen:



BERLIN - Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday announced a reshuffle of her cabinet, which has been in power just four weeks, naming Ursula von der Leyen to become Germany's new labor minister.

Von der Leyen, who was family minister, will be succeeded by Kristina Koehler, a lawmaker in the lower house of parliament for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union.

The move comes after German labor minister Franz Josef Jung Friday resigned following revelations about his handling of information about an air strike in Afghanistan in which an estimated 30 to 40 civilians were killed.

Merkel said Jung has been a "fine person" and that she has always worked well with him.

The labor portfolio is a crucial post in the government and oversees half of the government's budget. The new minister faces big challenges linked to the expected rise in unemployment caused by the economic crisis.

The post has been filled with von der Leyen, a 49-year-old mother of seven who is one of the Christian Democratic Union's most popular politicians.

The new family minister, a 32-year-old sociologist, comes from the important state of Hesse, home to one of Merkel's main rivals, Roland Koch.

The resignation of Jung, a close ally to Koch, is an embarrassment for Merkel's center-right coalition government, which took office last month.

He had been a fairly lackluster defense minister and his appointment as labor minister in the new government had come as surprise.

The post was expected to be filled by a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, and not from the Free Democratic Party coalition partner.

The new ministers will be formally appointed Monday by the president.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091127-706794.html