September 23, 2002
Heads will roll

In the aftermath of Gerhard Schroeder's re-election victory:

Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, who last week compared George Bush to Hitler, has resigned. The constituents in her legislative district also voted her out of parliament. [CORRECTION. Her constituents denied her direct election, but she will still win a seat through proportional representation, see PapaScott in the comments]

Anti-Semitism doesn't win elections:Juergen Moellemann resigns as vice-chair of the federal FDP after his disappointing show in the polls. He remains for now the head of the state party and member of the legislature in his home state of Nordrhein Westfallen, but his leadership there is also being challenged. The Christian Democrats blame both Moellemann and FDP chair Guido Westerwelle for harming the center-right coalition's outcome

George W Bush, still offended by the tone of Schroeder's campaign, has not yet offered the customary congratulations to the Chancellor on his re-election victory. Relations between Bush and Schroeder are likely to remain frosty for a while.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at September 23, 2002 09:00 AM
Comments

"The constituents in her legislative district also voted her out of parliament."

Not quite. She had a high place on the SPD list in Baden-Württemberg, and will return to the Bundestag on the basis of the proportion of 'Second Votes'.

Posted by: PapaScott on September 23, 2002 10:20 AM

Glad to see Mölleman was forced to step down after his shameless gambit. Now the CDU can form a coalition with the FDP with a clear conscience.

Posted by: Dan G. on September 24, 2002 05:12 AM
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