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

[German guy]

Do you have more nicknames for me? You seem to be handier with them then with arguments.

I could tell you what's wrong with your idea of "libertarianism", that's not as one dimensional as you seem to suggest. But this is not the place for it. I don't want to deride this thread debating with a smartass about the correct use of terms and libertarian philosophy, since this thread is about the election in Germany.

 

[Artevelde]

I could tell you what's wrong with your idea of "libertarianism", that's not as one dimensional as you seen to suggest. But this is not the place for it. I don't want to deride this thread debating with an anal smartass about the correct use of terms, since this thread is about the election in Germany.

Maybe you should begin by trying to learn some manners.

 

[German guy]

Maybe you should begin by trying to learn some manners.

You mean like constantly lecturing others until the thread derides into an off-topic pissing contest, instead of saying something to the topic at hand? Oh, obviously I could learn a lot from you about that.

 

[DDD]

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(!).

Well, cannot be that bad that can it?

 

[Artevelde]

You mean like constantly lecturing others until the thread derides into an off-topic pissing contest, instead of saying something to the topic at hand? Oh, obviously I could learn a lot from you about that.

Well, I certainly could learn a lot from you about calling other people names. But I am more interested in debate and arguments.

 

[German guy]

Well, cannot be that bad that can it?

Hm, often Chancellors step back in time or are diselected before they become dinosaurs ... Adenauer (1949-63) and Kohl were exceptions, the others didn't stay in office longer than for eight years.

 

[Artevelde]

Well, cannot be that bad that can it?

First of all a Chancellor is not a personal executive, like a President in the US, but rather the leader of a collective government.

Secondly, there is nothing wrong with alowing the voters to choose whom they prefer.

 

[German guy]

Well, I certainly could learn a lot from you about calling other people names. But I am more interested in debate and arguments.

Okay, that's good. Then let me know, what do you think about the lack of a term limit for Chancellors in Germany, for example?

 

[Artevelde]

Okay, that's good. Then let me know, what do you think about the lack of a term limit for Chancellors in Germany, for example?

See above.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

Okay, that's good. Then let me know, what do you think about the lack of a term limit for Chancellors in Germany, for example?

I think there should be a two term limit. I don't want Merkel hanging out here for decades. I'm against career politicians in general, I want for the people, by the people, not the plutocracy we're plagued with now.

 

[German guy]

First of all a Chancellor is not a personal executive, like a President in the US, but rather the leader of a collective government.

To some extent, that's true, but according to the German Constitution (please don't get a debate started about how the German "Grundgesetz" is not really a Constitution, as I am well aware of the background), the Chancellor has the "Richtlinienkompetenz" (something like "guideline competence") in the government and the "Verfassungsrealität" suggests that we indeed have a "Kanzerdemokratie" ("democracy of the Chancellor") -- read K. Niclauß if you have a problem with that concept.

The modern media situation point the elections towards a run-off between the two candidates for Chancellor too, and the popularity of the respective Chancellor or candidate has great influence on the support for their parties.

This situation justifies a term or year limit, IMO.

Secondly, there is nothing wrong with alowing the voters to choose whom they prefer.

That's a good point. On the other side, there are good points in favor of a term limit too.

 

[Artevelde]

To some extent, that's true, but according to the German Constitution (please don't get a debate started about how the German "Grundgesetz" is not really a Constitution, as I am well aware of the background), the Chancellor has the "Richtlinienkompetenz" (something like "guideline competence") in the government and the "Verfassungsrealität" suggests that we indeed have a "Kanzerdemokratie" ("democracy of the Chancellor") -- read K. Niclauß if you have a problem with that concept.

The modern media situation point the elections towards a run-off between the two candidates for Chancellor too, and the popularity of the respective Chancellor or candidate has great influence on the support for their parties.

This situation justifies a term or year limit, IMO.



That's a good point. On the other side, there are good points in favor of a term limit too.

I think that term limits are on the whole a bad idea. They may be necessary for very powerful personal executive offices like that of the US President, although even there I'm dubious (would it really have been better if FDR had been unable to run for re-election in 1940?). The real term limits are regular free and fair elections.

And if one were to impose term limits for a German Chancellor, then why not for leader of the political parties? In a Western-European system term limits on the chancellor would easily result in all sorts of shifts of power between various offices. Look how term limits work in Russia, with Putin and Medvedev.