GERMAN ELECTION (Running Thread): Schroeder by a Nosehair

Die Welt- translated ^ | 9/22/02 | Die Welt

[RobFromGa]

For those of you following the German elections.

Can anyone make any predictions based on this translated article with less than 2 hours to go?

[Drango]

Can anyone make any predictions based on this translated article with less than 2 hours to go?

I predict there will be a winner!

[chance33_98]

The one guy wins and the other loses ;)

http://www.germanmedia.com/ may help

[Scott from the Left Coast]

I predict Germany and France will have a competition over which is the most rotted-out corpse in Western European.

[eabinga]

It's going to be a close one...

I was just about to open a thread, but you just started one. Thank you.

Swinging my satellite to receive live coverage in about 8 minutes.

[RobFromGa]

thanks for the link.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Also in the capital went to Berlin with herbstlich to cool weather clearly less voter to the urns.

Though disturbing in a way, that sentence has a sing-song quality to it...

[eabinga]

[July 4th]

Click the link below for live Deutsche Welle TV and Radio.

http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,6591_A_640580_1_A,00.html

[RobFromGa]

the funny part is that in the original German, this entire article was only ten words long, each word however took up a paragraph.

I know "Herbst" is Fall, so herbstlich might be fall-like? I guess urns are the ballot boxes?

[RobFromGa]

Was ist das?

[eabinga]

Those are the most recent polls by different polling companies.

[RobFromGa]

Are any of them except Stoiber's blue team, CDU/CSU, right of center? I know Gree

Is it the blue guys against the rest? Maybe you could take a moment and explain this election to us?

[eabinga]

The yellow ones are on our side too, the (classic) liberals (FDP)

[eabinga]

Important: Keep in mind, that the percentages are not all saying. What counts is the number of seats every party gets.

If a party has less than 5%, they don't get any seats.

Also, the germans have two votes, one for their local candidate (kind of like a representative), and on for a political party (which as a slate of candidates).

[RobFromGa]

And what exactly determines whether Stoiber or Schroeder comes out on top? Sorry for the stupid questions...

[PaulKersey]

The polling stations for the election to the Bundestag had opened o'clock punctually at 08.00.

Note to Florida: Check with Germany to find out how to run a polling station.

[eabinga]

And what exactly determines whether Stoiber or Schroeder comes out on top? Sorry for the stupid questions...

Not a stupid question. The german election system is not a simple one.

Basically what we are hoping for, is that the CSU/CDU (Stoiber) and FDP (Mölleman) together get a majority of the seats so they can form a coalition government. It helps if the Greens and PDS don't pass the 5% hurdle.

What we dont want, is a coalition of SPD, Green and perhaps PDS.

[eabinga]

Oh, there are 598 seats. Half of these seats will go to local candidates, and half will come from party votes.

[SauronOfMordor]

Note to Florida: Check with Germany to find out how to run a polling station.

Maybe they could import the poll workers to handle the fall election

I'm just visualizing a bunch of elderly Jewish women showing up at a polling station with the poll workers all being clean-cut young blond men all speaking German to each other ...