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Germany 3 months before the election: Merkel's coalition in good shape

Artevelde said:
I have a healthy respect for Merkel, but can somebody in Germany please give her some dress advice?
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Well, her stylists already achieved a small miracle... that's what she looked like back in the 90s (Minister in Kohl's government 1991-98):

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Really, these people are worth their money. ;)
 
Artevelde said:
Seriously, that's putting the bar ridiculously low.
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I'm just being a good European by looking across the borders a bit ;)

Another good thing about Steinbrück being the German chancellor is that we'd get rid of the most useless and embarrassing foreign minister of world history. I really don't know who from the green party would be suitable for that office since Fischer left, but anyone would be better than Westerwelle.
 
Sanddune said:
I'm just being a good European by looking across the borders a bit ;)

Another good thing about Steinbrück being the German chancellor is that we'd get rid of the most useless and embarrassing foreign minister of world history. I really don't know who from the green party would be suitable for that office since Fischer left, but anyone would be better than Westerwelle.
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Trittin, most likely? But BILD would probably write him down again ("Tritt-ihn!")... but yeah, as long as Claudia Roth doesn't get that office, it would still be better than Westerwelle. ;)
 
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German guy said:
Trittin, most likely? But BILD would probably write him down again ("Tritt-ihn!")... but yeah, as long as Claudia Roth doesn't get that office, it would still be better than Westerwelle. ;)
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Call me a cynic, but I ultimately don't even care who wins anymore. Everyone wants to tax my ass even more and give even more of it to the EU. I'm drowning in taxes here.
 
German guy said:
Trittin, most likely? But BILD would probably write him down again ("Tritt-ihn!")... but yeah, as long as Claudia Roth doesn't get that office, it would still be better than Westerwelle. ;)
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Well Trittin as a foreign minister sounds a bit nightmarish too. I think it would be ideal if we had Steinmeier as a foreign minister and somebody green as as a minister of the interior to get going with data privacy. Maybe Ströbele ;)

I could imagine Claudia Roth as a minister of development :)
 
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Sanddune said:
Well Trittin as a foreign minister sounds a bit nightmarish too. I think it would be ideal if we had Steinmeier as a foreign minister and somebody green as as a minister of the interior to get going with data privacy. Maybe Ströbele ;)
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Yes, but won't happen ... to get rid of US surveillance, we'd have to leave NATO. So it won't happen until Gregor Gysi is chancellor and Sarah Wagenknecht is foreign minister... ;)
 
Sanddune said:
I'm just being a good European by looking across the borders a bit ;)

Another good thing about Steinbrück being the German chancellor is that we'd get rid of the most useless and embarrassing foreign minister of world history. I really don't know who from the green party would be suitable for that office since Fischer left, but anyone would be better than Westerwelle.
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Merkel will still be the better choice. Even if she wins the Eurozone will go through a rocky patch as the necessary steps are taken that are on hold until after the German elections. If Merkel were to lose, however, I think we can kiss the Euro - and quite possibly the EU in its current form goodbye.
 
German guy said:
Yes, but won't happen ... to get rid of US surveillance, we'd have to leave NATO. So it won't happen until Gregor Gysi is chancellor and Sarah Wagenknecht is foreign minister... ;)
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To get rid of US surveillance you would have to un-invent the internet and various other things.
 
German guy said:
Yes, but won't happen ... to get rid of US surveillance, we'd have to leave NATO. So it won't happen until Gregor Gysi is chancellor and Sarah Wagenknecht is foreign minister... ;)
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Well if you look at the surveillance map from the guardian, Germany is actually the only NATO country under heavy US surveillance, Iran and Pakistan are watched much more closely. I think getting out of NATO won't help; the only chance is to form a European coalition for privacy which speaks with one voice.
 
According to the new polls by Infratest Dimap Institute (published for public tv broadcaster ARD's "Deutschlandtrend"), Merkel's governing coalition of center-right and libertarians once again has a majority:

- when asked which party people would vote for, Merkel's center-right CDU/CSU wins 42% and the libertarian junior partner FDP 5%, which means 47% compared to the 46% of all opposition parties combined (almost 40% are not decided yet, though)

- the incumbent government now reaches the best approval rate for any German government in the past 16 years, with 52% who say "it does a good work" vs. 47% who say it doesn't

- it's paradox that many people are unhappy with Merkel's government on different fields: 77% disagree with their family policies, only 20% agree; only 19% trust the Chancellor in the NSA surveillance scandal, 78% disagree with her; Interior Minister de Maiziere's approval rate fell from 56% to 34%

Infratest Dimap explains this paradox result (approval for the government, but disagreement with particular policies) with two factors: It's especially Merkel's personal approval rate that pushed her government parties (she reaches 56% compared to 38% for her parties), and then, more people than in a long time say they're economically well off (76% "very good" or "good" vs. 24% "very bad" or "bad") -- "it's the economy, stupid!"

So the people wants Merkel. But they do not necessarily want the libertarian FDP as Merkel's junior partner: Only 39% say they want the FDP in the next goverment.

Warum Schwarz-Gelb so gut abschneidet | tagesschau.de
 
German guy said:
According to the new polls by Infratest Dimap Institute (published for public tv broadcaster ARD's "Deutschlandtrend"), Merkel's governing coalition of center-right and libertarians once again has a majority:

- when asked which party people would vote for, Merkel's center-right CDU/CSU wins 42% and the libertarian junior partner FDP 5%, which means 47% compared to the 46% of all opposition parties combined (almost 40% are not decided yet, though)

- the incumbent government now reaches the best approval rate for any German government in the past 16 years, with 52% who say "it does a good work" vs. 47% who say it doesn't

- it's paradox that many people are unhappy with Merkel's government on different fields: 77% disagree with their family policies, only 20% agree; only 19% trust the Chancellor in the NSA surveillance scandal, 78% disagree with her; Interior Minister de Maiziere's approval rate fell from 56% to 34%

Infratest Dimap explains this paradox result (approval for the government, but disagreement with particular policies) with two factors: It's especially Merkel's personal approval rate that pushed her government parties (she reaches 56% compared to 38% for her parties), and then, more people than in a long time say they're economically well off (76% "very good" or "good" vs. 24% "very bad" or "bad") -- "it's the economy, stupid!"

So the people wants Merkel. But they do not necessarily want the libertarian FDP as Merkel's junior partner: Only 39% say they want the FDP in the next goverment.

Warum Schwarz-Gelb so gut abschneidet | tagesschau.de
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I'm a bit confused as to why you categorize the FDP as "libertarian". They are a liberal party, and some of the members may have libertarian tendencies, but on the whole the FDP is too much of a bürgerlich party to define it as libertarian (that fits better with Die Piraten).
 
Artevelde said:
I'm a bit confused as to why you categorize the FDP as "libertarian". They are a liberal party, and some of the members may have libertarian tendencies, but on the whole the FDP is too much of a bürgerlich party to define it as libertarian (that fits better with Die Piraten).
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I do that to avoid confusion among our American posters, as "liberal" is usually a synonym for "left" in America. The FDP is moderate on social issues and very pro-free market and pro-small government, which means they are the closest thing we have Americans would call "libertarian".
 
German guy said:
I do that to avoid confusion among our American posters, as "liberal" is usually a synonym for "left" in America. The FDP is moderate on social issues and very pro-free market and pro-small government, which means they are the closest thing we have Americans would call "libertarian".
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I understand your reasoning, but categorizing them as libertarian creates even more confusion than labeling them as liberal (which I still feel is the correct term). I can't see the FDP as libertarian.
 
Artevelde said:
I understand your reasoning, but categorizing them as libertarian creates even more confusion than labeling them as liberal (which I still feel is the correct term). I can't see the FDP as libertarian.
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I've met many American libertarians who basically said the very same things German FDP supporters say. Maybe it's your idea of "libertarianism" that's a bit limited.
 
German guy said:
I've met many American libertarians who basically said the very same things German FDP supporters say. Maybe it's your idea of "libertarianism" that's a bit limited.
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Where exactly in the FDP program does it say they want to abolish the welfare state?
 
Artevelde said:
Where exactly in the FDP program does it say they want to abolish the welfare state?
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Oh my, you're a smartass, aren't you?

If there is one party in Germany that loves Hayek, Friedman and Thatcher, and constantly wants to cut taxes and reduce welfare spending, it's the FDP. The only difference to American libertarians is that they have their place in the party system ever since 1949 and thus are used to compromise and less extreme in their "outsider position" as American hardcore libertarians.
 
German guy said:
Oh my, you're a smartass, aren't you?

If there is one party in Germany that loves Hayek, Friedman and Thatcher, and constantly wants to cut taxes and reduce welfare spending, it's the FDP. The only difference to American libertarians is that they have their place in the party system ever since 1949 and thus are used to compromise and less extreme in their "outsider position" as American hardcore libertarians.
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Before you try to hand out nicknames to people, try to ask some of your libertarian friends if they would consider Margaret Thatcher a libertarian. I think you have no understanding of the word.

The FDP is a liberal party, in the continental European sense of the word. There is no need to go and look for other terms that are completely different in content.
 
Artevelde said:
Before you try to hand out nicknames to people, try to ask some of your libertarian friends if they would consider Margaret Thatcher a libertarian. I think you have no understanding of the word.

The FDP is a liberal party, in the continental European sense of the word. There is no need to go and look for other terms that are completely different in content.
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Well, maybe you could discuss your definition of "libertarian" with members of the CATO Institute. I guess they'd wash your head, mr. smart.

Look, if you are interested in making valuable contributions to the debate, you are welcome. But if you are just here for pestering and smartassery, go somewhere else.
 
German guy said:
Well, maybe you could discuss your definition of "libertarian" with members of the CATO Institute. I guess they'd wash your head, mr. smart.

Look, if you are interested in making valuable contributions to the debate, you are welcome. But if you are just here for pestering and smartassery, go somewhere else.
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I understand you can't handle a real discussion. That's your problem. Not mine.
 
Artevelde said:
I understand you can't handle a real discussion. That's your problem. Not mine.
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No, the problem is that you do not engage in any discussion on the topic. Instead you're playing semantics Nazi. Probably soon, you will start limiting yourself to pointing out spelling mistakes.
 
DDD said:
How many times can Merkel apply for the throne?
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There is no limit in Germany (I wish there was).

Chancellor Kohl, for example, governed for four terms (1982-1998) and even ran for a fifth(!).
 
German guy said:
No, the problem is that you do not engage in any discussion on the topic. Instead you're playing semantics Nazi. Probably soon, you will start limiting yourself to pointing out spelling mistakes.
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Do you have more nicknames for me? You seem to be handier with them then with arguments.
 
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