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Angela Merkel dealt further blow by German voters in key state election
The Guardian ^ | May 13, 2012 | Kate Connolly

Posted on 05/13/2012 2:02:51 PM PDT by JerseyanExile

Voters in Germany's most populous state handed a resounding victory to the centre-lefton Sunday, dealing a heavy blow to Angela Merkel's conservatives in what was interpreted as a backlash against the chancellor's European austerity campaign.

Exit polls on Sunday night in the North Rhine-Westphalia election showed Hannelore Kraft, who had led the state's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in a coalition with the Greens, had soundly beaten her Christian Democrat (CDU) rival Norbert Röttgen, Merkel's environment minister.

The SPD secured 39% of the vote to the CDU's 26% in what amounted to the worst result in the state for the conservatives since 1949. The Greens took 12%, ensuring that a coalition with the SPD would mean a 10-seat majority in the state parliament. The Free Democratic party (FDP), Merkel's coalition partner in the federal government, took 8.5% of the vote.

The parvenu Pirates party, whose platform is based on greater openness in government through technology, were celebrating their fourth successive entry into a regional parliament after polling 7.5%.

The result in North Rhine-Westphalia is seen as setting the tone for next year's federal elections. The state's 18 million people makes it bigger than some EU countries, including Greece, whose perilous economic situation and Germany's approach to it was often the focus of the campaign. It gives a clear boost to the SPD and puts Merkel, who remains Germany's most popular politician after seven years in power, on shaky political ground.

The setback for the CDU comes on top of the defeat last week of its coalition with the FDP in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Germany; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cdu; germanelections; nordrheinwestfalen; spd

1 posted on 05/13/2012 2:03:04 PM PDT by JerseyanExile
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To: JerseyanExile

Hasn’t it been that her embrace of AGW has really hurt her?

Its amazing what the MSM will label “conservative”


2 posted on 05/13/2012 2:08:10 PM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
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To: JerseyanExile

So it seems Europe is going full throated socialist. Problem is that as anger rises toward the EU and the Euro the spectre of nationalism will emerge. When you get socialism, nationalism, and major banks and industrial cartels in the same place, you get FASCISM. Europe is about to no longer be a boring repository os tourist attractions.


3 posted on 05/13/2012 2:10:03 PM PDT by xkaydet65
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To: JerseyanExile

Sounds like the voters are not getting enough of other peoples money.


4 posted on 05/13/2012 2:16:12 PM PDT by soycd
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To: soycd

Too funny, the same economic system that got them into the mess, the takers want more of. I wonder what the London Bookies have as the over/under for when the bullets start to fly?


5 posted on 05/13/2012 2:29:23 PM PDT by DAC21
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To: soycd

New Word: Ineptocracy

Could not find it in my old Webster’s. Googled it and discovered it is a recently “coined” new word found on a T shirt on eBay. Getting really close to the bone! Read this one over slowly and absorb the facts that totally are within this sentence!

I love this word and believe that it will become a recognized English word. Finally, there is a word to describe our current political and economic situation.

Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.


6 posted on 05/13/2012 2:35:20 PM PDT by 23 Everest (When seconds count. The police are just 23 minutes away. 831 Bonnie)
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To: xkaydet65

You nailed it!!! This is history repeating itself. Once everyone learns that socialism won’t work either, the ingredients for fascism will be perfectly fermented.


7 posted on 05/13/2012 3:00:36 PM PDT by CWW (Pray for God's Protection!)
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To: xkaydet65

You nailed it!!! This is history repeating itself. Once everyone learns that socialism won’t work either, the ingredients for fascism will be perfectly fermented.


8 posted on 05/13/2012 3:00:36 PM PDT by CWW (Pray for God's Protection!)
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To: xkaydet65

You nailed it!!! This is history repeating itself. Once everyone learns that socialism won’t work either, the ingredients for fascism will be perfectly fermented.


9 posted on 05/13/2012 3:00:36 PM PDT by CWW (Pray for God's Protection!)
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To: xkaydet65

You nailed it!!! This is history repeating itself. Once everyone learns that socialism won’t work either, the ingredients for fascism will be perfectly fermented.


10 posted on 05/13/2012 3:01:16 PM PDT by CWW (Pray for God's Protection!)
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To: JerseyanExile

Keep it up, Euros, and this time it will have to be the Chinese who come to save you...


11 posted on 05/13/2012 3:11:39 PM PDT by bigbob
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To: CWW
In recognition of your excellent quadruple post....here is a short music video on the subject of "History Repeating"

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpqYPBi6iHI

12 posted on 05/13/2012 4:18:24 PM PDT by spokeshave (If Obama is Lenin....who are Trotsky and Stalin...?)
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To: DAC21

Somebody on FR said yesterday it was easier to keep socialism going when you don’t have a third world continent hanging off your border. I tend to agree, Germany can keep the ponzi going a little longer.


13 posted on 05/13/2012 4:40:36 PM PDT by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: spokeshave

“In recognition of your excellent quadruple post....here is a short music video on the subject of “History Repeating”

The upgrade of Servers would be a welcome change, not that it will ever happen - apparently.


14 posted on 05/13/2012 4:42:52 PM PDT by DAC21
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To: GeronL

“Hasn’t it been that her embrace of AGW has really hurt her?”

If that were so, the Greens wouldn’t be picking up votes.


15 posted on 05/13/2012 5:43:28 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: JerseyanExile
NRW is Germany's rustbelt. They've only had one CDU government in 45 years.

To go from over a third of the votes to a smidgen over quarter is a big defeat for the the CDU, but it's not the apocalypse yet. If any part of West Germany was going to reject austerity, it would be this part (the East is another story).

FWIW, the Christian Democrats actually got the most votes of any party in the last election (2010), but the SPD was able to form a government with the support of the Greens (and abstention of the Left Party, which lost all their seats in this election).

16 posted on 05/14/2012 4:48:09 PM PDT by x
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