Regards, Ivan
Posted on 09/20/2002 11:07:11 PM PDT by MadIvan
In most democracies, the end of a long election campaign is received with relief by the voters. The citizens of Germany can be forgiven for being more grateful than average for the close of their proceedings. A miserable battle, which has revolved around personalities not policies and short-term populism not long-term dilemmas, has done nothing to address the real problems of Europe’s largest nation. It is difficult to conceive how any coalition which may emerge from the tortured post-poll negotiations will have either the mandate or the sense of mission to spur economic growth, slash unemployment or promote cohesion in a society that has been reunited, but hardly unified.
Gerhard Schröder opted to appear at his final major party rally in Dortmund last night alongside Gunter Gräss, the Nobel prize-winning author, and Goran Persson, the Swedish Prime Minister. That choice was appropriate, for the Chancellor’s campaign has been a work of fiction and if it has had any theme at all, it has been, like that of the soggy Swedish Social Democrats, an unthinking defence of the status quo. Herr Schröder has proved an astute tactician on the hustings but with no sense of a strategy. He has felt the pain of the flood victims in eastern Germany with skill, but is in no position, despite his promises, to line their pockets. His vocal stance against any war with Iraq has been opportunism run riot.
There will be serious consequences of this reckless approach if he is re-elected. The reported remarks of his Justice Minister Herta Däubler-Gmelin, comparing George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler, have compounded the outrage in Washington that the Chancellor has decided to run against his opponents by running down the Bush President. The notion that everything will be forgotten come Monday is optimistic. Mr Bush is known for having a good memory for insults.
If Herr Schröder has been shameless then his rivals have been hapless. Edmund Stoiber, the Christian Democrat candidate for Chancellor, could and should have directed his fire squarely on economic stagnation. He has instead conducted himself in a staggeringly inept manner. He has provided no compelling sense of urgency on the questions that matter most to Germany’s future and has too easily been seduced by the prospect of scoring cheap points by lashing out at unpopular minorities. In truth, he has not even done that effectively. Herr Schröder’s record is such that a neutral should have felt able to endorse the opposition if only on a “time for a change” basis. The performance of the Christian Democrats means that this low hurdle has not been cleared.
The leader of the Free Democrats, Guido Westerwelle, has at least attempted to address the questions that the larger two parties have studiously avoided. But even here, the dubious populism of a minority in his ranks, led by his deputy, Jurgen Mollemann, has been an embarrassment. The Greens are content to live off the popularity of Joschka Fischer, their leader and the Foreign Minister. The former communist PDS remain prisoners of an appalling past.
There are times when affluent countries can afford an incoherent polity. Switzerland, for example, has coped with one for many years. Germany is, however, showing disturbing signs of the symptoms which have immobilised Japan for the past decade. It cannot afford the pantomime that this contest has become. In one of the last polls to be published before the election 54 per cent of voters said that they were dissatisfied with the work of the Social Democrats in office while 57 per cent declared themselves discontent with Herr Stoiber and his colleagues. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that those electors are absolutely right.
Regards, Ivan
Got that right and I won't forget it either
President Bush is NOT going to forget the impugnation, which he has lately suffered, at the hands of these people. Either they're with us, or they're against us. They're not " with " us.
If the media has managed to do one thing, it's been to convince some people, that the president is an idiot. The true idiot, is the person who discounts him.
She's a socialist. She assumes her feelings are more valid than actual thought.
Regards, Ivan
She is a socialist.
Socialists don't "think". They "feel".
And, as a socialist, she doesn't give a fig what the US and W think.
And they think HIS memory is good, wait til they get a load of OURS!!!
Their apology wasn't all that good either. I have to admit I'm surprised the Germans self-destructed so badly.
Regards, Ivan
Well said Ivan. The hunds that parade as German leaders have gone over the edge now. They fully deserve to sink into the economic oblivion that is their just due.
Looks like all the socialist/liberal leaders of Europe are headed for the dust bin of history. Will Tony be smart enough to avoid the same fate?
BUMP
Regards, Ivan
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