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"DOWN GOES SCHROEDER! DOWN GOES SCHROEDER!"
Posted on 09/18/2005 12:12:37 AM PDT by alessandrofiaschi
Voting began in Germany's closely fought election today with millions of undecided voters holding the key to a result that will have major implications for economic reform in Europe.
Angela Merkel, a Christian Democrat (CDU) chancellor, is expected to emerge as Germany's first woman chancellor, displacing Gerhard Schroeder who has led Germany for the past seven years at the head of a centre-left government of Social Democrats and Greens.
A provisional result is expected to be announced in the early hours of Monday morning. The final opinion polls published on Friday gave Merkel's centre-right coalition with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) a slim lead in a race it once dominated.
High stakes For Germany and the rest of Europe, the stakes in the election are high. Some five million Germans are out of work, the country's pensions system is in crisis, its public finances are overstretched and the economy that once drove growth in Europe is now acting as a drag on the rest of the continent.
Analysts say that if Germany succeeds in pushing through reforms, they could be a model for change in the rest of Europe. Surveys show that most Germans believe the system needs changing but they are deeply uncertain about how far the changes should go and how the burden should be shared.
Schroeder's own "Agenda 2010" reforms to welfare and labour market rules have been the most ambitious attempt to overhaul the social security system in decades. They have been attacked by the conservatives and by some commentators as not going far enough. The reforms were bitterly resented by voters. - Reuters
Don't worry. Merkel will not have a clear majority and if she tries to make too many reforms, she will be out in the next election. Germany will not change fast.
Ever try to wean a baby from breastfeeding?
You think so? I'm not so sure about that.
Hi Michael!
How are you? Hey is it true they want to up the sales tax to 18%? Last time I was home in Germany I almost died how much everything is in Euro (I remember the prices in Marks!) Tschussi und schoenen Sontag! MONI
"I cannot believe that the damn PDS communists are at 10%. What a joke! Germany is utterly hopeless."
We probably have as many in the US
AP has reported based on exit polls Schroeder has lost.
But ours are diluted when compared, population wise.
This is a national tradegy for Germany, a communist party with around 8% is a great shock for us and those that wanted a strong german nation to support U.S. in the war against terrorism.
I believe this party was voted from "german" Muslims, Stalinists from the East, Punks, Nazis and Slackers.
"DOWN GOES SCHROEDER! DOWN GOES SCHROEDER!"
I do not believe these exit poll results.
I followed this election since it was announced in May and I did not see ONE poll that ever had the CDU/CSU below 40% or one poll with the FDP over 9%.
I think one should wait for the actual results, no these exit polls since phone polls, taken as an average, prove to be far more accurate than exit polls.
Auf wiedersehen.
Yes. Weaning initially maybe gradual, but after a brief transition you end the party and don't go back.
OK, you're completely right. But stop now, pleeeeezze!
Merkel spoke not long ago. She acknowledges that the party came up short of goals, but she has every intention of forming the next government.
FDP leader says that his party will not take part in a "traffic light coalition" with the SPD & Greens.
Just what I was thinking except it sounded more like "Schroduh."
So far, judging on the exit polls, it looks like despite absolutely massive unemployment and a crumbling economy that Germans basically want to keep things as they are. I'm speechless. I can't leave here soon enough.
I'm not that familiar with Merkel. Is she Schroeder light, politically speaking? Just slightly less left? Or is this a sign Germans actually wanted something different?
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