UPDATE (9/22) Election results are here
Germany's federal election is less than 3 days away. 72 hours from the time of this posting the first official results will be coming in.
Justin Weitz gives a terrific overview of the context for the current campaign.
Deutsche Welle explains the complicated election system, which combines direct election of district representatives with a proportional party-based system.
This site , which seems to be updated daily, gives the latest results from the various election polls.
Today's election news from the German press
Free Democrat (FDP) leader Guido Westerwelle finally dissociates himself from his deputy, Juergen Moellemann, in the wake of Moellemann's anti-Semitic flyer. The flyer almost certainly killed Moellemann's career as a respectable politician. Although many of the FDP's leaders have criticized Moellemann's obsessional Jew-taunting behavior since it erupted a few months ago, Westerwelle has also been criticized for doing too little, too late, to rein Moellemann in. Both Westerwelle and the party's chances have probably already been damaged by Moellemann's behavior.
Although the FDP is only the 3rd largest party with about 10% of the vote, the fallout from this scandal could help determine who becomes Chancellor. Stoiber and the Christian Democrats can come to power only with the FDP as their coalition partner. Every voter that Moellemann drives away from the FDP will either vote for another party (most likely either the Christian Democrats or the Social Democrats) or sit out the election. With the two big parties still neck and neck, any loss for the FDP is also probably a net win for the incumbent Social Democrats.
Edmund Stoiber said today that if elected he would not allow the US to use its German military bases for a unilateral (Alleingang) American action against Iraq. This came as a surprise, as Stoiber and the Christian Democrats have recently criticized Schroeder for his "anti-American" Iraq policy, and try to portray themselves as the more pro-American party. But Stoiber can read the polls too: 45% of Germans would support German participation against Iraq under a UN mandate, 50% would oppose German participation even under a UN mandate, and only 4% would support unilateral American action. In any event, Stoiber's statement about a unilateral American action may be empty rhetoric. If other countries such as, say, Britain work with the US against Iraq, it's not exactly a unilateral American action now, is it?
Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin (Social Democrat) likened George W Bush to Hitler. Speaking to a small group of trade unionists she said that "Bush is [using the war against Iraq] to deflect attention from his domestic problems. That's a popular tactic. Hitler did that too." Equating one's allies with Hitler is still the third rail of German politics. Daeubler-Gmelin tried to explain her way out of this by saying she wasn't equating them on a personal level, "only their methods". The oppositon Union and FDP leaders have demanded that Schroeder both apologize to Bush and fire the Justice Minister.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at September 19, 2002 11:39 AMWow, everybody is getting so nervous! It looks like the next 72 hours will be entertaining.
Posted by: Chris K on September 19, 2002 03:37 PMStefan,
I'm appalled. Stoiber's about face is almost understandable, because Schroeders attacks on Bush and the war on Iraq seem to work at the polls. What he doesn't think of is that Schroeder is gaining by this only because it brings the estranged left wing of the social democrats back into the party's fold. Emulating Schroeders rhetoric won't help him at all because nobody who likes this kind of approach is going to vote for him. I think this is simply helplessness and maybe even desperation. It's bad luck too. If both sides weren't that evenly matched, the issue wouldn't be decisive at all. It's almost like the presidential elections 2000. Al Gore went to any length to win, too.
The FDP ("free democrats")are a tragic case. The whole tradition of their party is contrary to anti-Semitism and then Moellemann confronts them with his anti-Semitic tactics. I think if all of this hadn't happened in the run-up to an election
they would have demoted him to an ordinary party-member (as they did before about 10 years ago)
or even kicked him out. I'll be interested to see how they handle him afterwards. Considering the alternatives I'd still like them to be a part of the next government (the current government has some positive exceptions. Joschka Fischer is hands-down the most pro-Israel foreign minister in the EU).
*Sigh* Herta, why did you have to do it? Helmut Kohl compared Gorbachev to Goebbels (without any provocation) and now that. Even so, she's too authoritarian for my taste (most social democrats are) and so it really couldn't happen to a nicer person. She wil have to go, I don't care what Schroeder is saying right now. Maybe he's starting to have second thoughts about winning.
Posted by: Ralf Goergens on September 19, 2002 03:39 PMStefan,
Enjoyed your write up "Earth Calling Amiri Baraka" - well done!
The ONLY time I heard of the ridiculous rumor about all israeli workers being contacted to stay home on 9/11 is from a story that 60 minutes (or similar) did during interviews with seemingly VERY ignorant palestinians. I'm sure this is where Baraka probably got his information as well.
It's amazing how many people could believe such a stupid rumor, especially someone that's supposed to be respected in his field, or should I say, USED to be respected.
good work,
ATT - Boston
Posted by: ATT on September 29, 2002 01:57 AM