Schröder heading for home defeat (HOLD MEIN BIER...THE RESULTS)

The Daily Telegraph ^ | November 23, 2002 | Hannah Cleaver

[MadIvan]

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder received more bad news yesterday as an opinion poll predicted defeat for his party in his home state of Lower Saxony in next February's elections.

The polling firm Emnid said the Social Democrat Party (SPD) would win only 34 per cent of the vote, eight per cent down on the figure from a poll in September. This would be the party's worst election result in the state since 1957 and a far cry from the 1998 result of 49.4 per cent.

The election, although only a state one, would be seen as a brutal verdict on Mr Schröder's performance on the national level. He is struggling to overcome a collapse in popularity since narrowly winning the federal election in September. He has lost support faster since his re-election than any post-war leader in Germany.

Even if combined with a remarkable prediction for the Greens to reach 12 per cent - up five per cent since September - the SPD state government would be unseated, according to the survey.

The winners would be the conservative Christian Democrat Union, which is predicted to achieve 43 per cent, in coalition with the Free Democrat Party. Of more than 1,000 people polled, 61 per cent felt that the political atmosphere favoured the CDU, an increase of 32 per cent since September.

The corresponding figure for the SPD has disintegrated, down 38 per cent to only 13 per cent. More than half said it was time for a change in power in the state.

[MadIvan]

The fact that the Greens are up, who bear a good deal of the responsibility for the higher taxes the German government is about to impose, indicates it is still the days of Hold Mein Bier in Germany.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[Wphile]

He has lost support faster since his re-election than any post-war leader in Germany.

Good news, indeed. Schroeder is a fraud. Perhaps the Germans are realizing that now. Wish it had happened prior to the elections in September.

[Reo]

Time wounds all heels.

[CasearianDaoist]

These are soles that time mens' tries?

[afuturegovernor]

I wish we could have knocked him out of office. Germany will pay for it's choice to leave him in power in terms of economics and international relations (esp. with US and Britain.)

[Vidalia]

Being a planetary asshole towards GW Bush is reaping wunnerful results.

He and Daschle might consider a mid-winter swim in the Rhine before long...

[SAJ]

In the style of Spike Jones and the City Slickers:

'Ven Herr Schroe-der says: Ve got it fig-gered out'
'Ve shmile, und laugh, right at der shtup-it Kraut'
'Fur die Gründummköpfe, he iss zhust a tout',
'Zo ve'll HEIL, und shmile, un-til zey kick him out!'

[NewRomeTacitus]

German politics is pretty odd. When their president was running for reelection in the mid-80's graffiti popped up everywhere with the same message:
"I love you, Helmet Kohl!-Eva Braun"

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Good post! Deutschland is back!

[JohnnyRidden]

Couldn't they hold a vote of no confidence to remove him if Germany falls deeper into the crapper?

[Wphile]

Possibly but I must admit, I'm not totally sure how the German parliamentary procedure works.

[Grampa Dave]

I think that you are really on to something here with this comment:

Being a planetary asshole towards GW Bush is reaping wunnerful results.

We know how being an anti GW Clymer has destroyed the believability of the Da$$hole and other rats in America.

Now, we are apparently seeing this result in many places around the world. Around the world, once the voters get by the mediots's bs about the dumbness of GW and the Cowboy image, a large % of them start showing their respect of GW via their ballots.

Hopefully this will happen in Canada which is controlled by vile French Canadians, who hate GW and America. They are the real morons in Canada.