GERMAN ELECTION (Running Thread): Schroeder by a Nosehair

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

[RobFromGa]

Election turnout probably smaller than 1998

Large opinion

Berlin/Rostock (dpa) - with the election to the Bundestag a smaller participation than before drew four years starting from 1998 lay it Germany far with 82,2 per cent in the late Sunday afternoon. However the returning officers reported high letter voter at the same time of a ratio. Everywhere the letter voters were not already taken in account. Thus a factor of uncertainty remained existing.

As one inquires around approximately three hours before locking of the polling stations resulted in, to against 15.00 o'clock in most Lands of the Federal Republic a clearly lower election turnout was registered. In Saxonia-Anhalt the participation lay at this time approximately 15 points under the values of the yearly 1998, in other Lands of the Federal Republic up to eight points. Also in the capital went to Berlin with herbstlich to cool weather clearly less voter to the urns.

On the other hand there was the tendency in few other Lands of the Federal Republic also to an easily higher election turnout - in such a way in Schleswig-Holstein and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where at the same time a new federal state parliament was selected.

In Saxonia the returning officers spoke first of a surprisingly large resonance, then the interest decreased/went back however clearly. Also in Bavaria the choice encountered in the first hours in some cities a substantially larger interest than 1998. There the participation up to 12 per cent points in the comparison rose to the same time before four years. Against noon this tendency decreased/went back likewise, of a clear minus was later spoken. It was similar in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg.

From other Lands of the Federal Republic a rather weak resonance was determined. In Hessen, Thuringia, Saarland and Bremen the values decreased/went back. Also in Rhineland-Palatinate, Brandenburg and Lower Saxony the crush was smaller than 1998. In Baden-Wuerttemberg it meant: Election turnout constantly.

The polling stations for the election to the Bundestag had opened o'clock punctually at 08.00. 61,2 million Federal citizen were called to select a new parliament. With the election of the federal parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were entitled to vote about 1.4 million citizen.

After last inquiries and prognoses to the exit the SPD with Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was appropriate for the election to the Bundestag scarcely before the union with her candidate for the chancellorship Edmund Stoiber (CSU). Since also the smaller parties FDP and the Green were strongly estimated approximately in each case equal, the continuation of the red-green coalition was considered as uncertain. For a government majority in the parliament it could be crucial whether the Party of Democratic Socialism draws again into the Bundestag or not.

The Social Democrats set to come into the proximity of their result from 1998 to. At that time they reached 40.9 per cent of the secondary voices. CDU/CSU had slipped before four years to 35,1 per cent, their secondaryworst result with elections to the Bundestag. The Greens reached 6.7 per cent, the FDP came on 6,2 per cent. The Party of Democratic Socialism overcame the five-per cent hurdle with 5,1 per cent scarcely.

After last inquiries in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a confirmation of the red-red coalition of SPD and Party of Democratic Socialism under head of the government Harald Ringstorff (SPD) applied as extremely probable. 1998 had the SPD 34.3, which reaches Party of Democratic Socialism 24.4 and the CDU 30.2 per cent.

[Prodigal Son]

Hmmm. We have a house in Hessen (well, my wife does). Willingen- up in the Hochsauerland. Nice area. We might even move back there one day.

[SkyRat]

The FDP is doing even worse than the Greens right now. Do you think its mainly because of Mollemann?

Though question. But I think so, yes. Nothing else changed.

[UofORepublican]

Why the hell did he have to shoot his mouth off two days before the election? I felt sorry for him months ago when Spiegel went after him, but this is not the time to go off about Jews, not two days before an election. I hope the FDP does something about him for once.

[YummiBox]

news.at (Austrian) is calling it for Stoiber... but the congress is still in question. who knows?

[eabinga]

Stoiber critizizing Schröder and his anti-americanism on TV now.... I hope CNN shows it...

[Wait4Truth]

This is driving me nuts...

[eabinga]

Congress elects the chancellor...

[JamesWilson]

Up to 51% (progressive). Also add a 16% sales tax to that and some others payroll taxes...

OUCH!!!

[eabinga]

Schröder and Stoiber together now in German TV studios being interviewed...almost like a debate

[JamesWilson]

Too high :-)

I see that! Well, don't look at me, I voted for the FDP. What can I do if every guy around me is voting for some socalist party, be it SPD or CSU.

Just keep spreadin' the word. Good Luck.

[SkyRat]

Yeah, he screwed it up pretty badly. If I'm not mistaken he resigned from the FDP.

The problem of the FDP is that they don't have sympathic politicans. Westerwelle looks like a gay idiot, Mölleman can't keep his mouth shut for longer than 5 minutes and thats about it.

[Lessismore]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&ncid=721&e=1&u=/nm/20020922/wl_nm/germany_dc

Germany's SPD/Greens Back Ahead in TV Estimate

Sun Sep 22, 2:39 PM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - A projection for ARD television Sunday indicated that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's coalition of Social Democrats and Greens were headed for a tiny majority in parliament over a conservative-liberal alliance.

The latest projection, based on early counts from Sunday's general election, gave Schroeder's center-left SPD 38.1 percent and the environmentalist Greens 8.6 percent, to 38.8 percent for Edmund Stoiber's conservatives and 7.3 percent for their traditional partners, the liberal Free Democrats.

ARD said its calculations indicated this would giving the current SPD/Greens coalition a one-seat parliamentary majority.

ARD's previous projection had put the conservative-liberal alliance in a slim lead.

However, separate projections for ZDF television showed the two possible coalitions level in terms of seats in parliament.

A provisional official result will not be known until after midnight local time (2200 GMT), although German television was broadcasting progressively more accurate projections.

[vbmoneyspender]

It's called a democracy! Something the US could learn from with only two parties and a few millionaires....

Yeah sure -- we should be taking lessons from Germany on how to run a country. Anymore bright ideas.

[UofORepublican]

Why the hell did he say these things? He knew damn well this would happen. If the center right loses this by a hair he will be the main culprit.

[RobFromGa]

[x]

Recent evens in Germany prove two things that get said here a lot.

The first is that a highly regulated, highly taxed welfare state with much social insurance and many social welfare programs is a drag on the economy. When voters are discontented, though, they may well vote for more of the same, having grown used to state intervention and having come to rely on it. So one digs oneself deeper and deeper into a hole, until someone comes along to change things.

That seems to be a general trend or law, though one can't rely on it in every case. What makes Germany different from France or Sweden is the burden of East Germany. Other country's can postpone the reckoning. Germany inherited a dependent, unindustrious population in the East, so the drag is much heavier there than in other European countries.

The second thing is that the Gramscian, "long march through the institutions" of the 1960s New Left will have an effect. I'd have said that the former New Leftists were more likely to be influenced by the capitalist system than to influence conditions in a radical direction.

On the whole, that's probably true, but at key moments, the leftist antecedents of officials like Schroeder or Fischer will have an effect. And that time is now: see Germany's attitude towards Bush's Iraq war. A CDU leader might also be tempted to tweak America for political gain, but it would be understood to be part of the electoral game. With Schroeder and Fischer it's more serious than that.

Deutsche Welle is a good source for news from Germany in English (and other languages).

[Dog]

Why the hell did he say these things? He knew damn well this would happen. If the center right loses this by a hair he will be the main culprit.

Maybe that was the plan...

Watch to see if he gets a seat in the government.........if Schroder should pull this off..

[SkyRat]

I'm not a mind reader. I'm not a great fan of Mölleman either way. This is just the last step in a long series of bad moves.

[RobFromGa]

Well what's the deal? Is this one over? Or still too close to call?

[OldFriend]

AMERICA has much to teach and nothing to learn from Germany.