Posted on 02/02/2003 5:20:47 AM PST by knighthawk
BERLIN: Germans began voting on Sunday in two state elections, with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats widely expected to suffer crushing defeats for their handling of the stagnant economy.
Opinion polls indicated his SPD would lose power in Lower Saxony, Schroeder's home state, and fail to oust the conservative-led government in the central state of Hesse, which includes the financial capital Frankfurt.
Polling booths opened at 8 am (0700 GMT) and are set to close 10 hours later when first exit polls will be broadcast.
Ten million people are eligible to vote in the two states, in the first test of public sentiment since last September's general election.
Schroeder's popularity has plummeted since he was re-elected on a wave of support for his anti-war stance on Iraq and his strong handling of devastating summer floods.
He has tried again to tap anti-war sentiment, ruling out a German "Yes" to war in any UN Security Council vote.
But polls show his Iraq policy has not eclipsed concern about economic woes. Businesses and financial markets hope defeats in the two states will speed reform by strengthening the conservative opposition and persuading Berlin to become more aggressive in cutting welfare costs choking the economy.
"I'm optimistic. When the election campaigns are over, the government will put its foot on the accelerator and the opposition will cooperate," the head of the Federation of German Industry, Michael Rogowski, told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Stock market boost?
The stock market could also benefit. "New political impetus would definitely help share prices," Hans-Joachim Koenig, fund manager at Union Investment, told Die Welt newspaper.
Rising unemployment, tax increases, near-recession and the absence of convincing reforms have pushed the SPD down 10 points to about 30 percent in opinion polls, with the conservatives close to 50 per cent.
Schroeder has ruled out resigning if the Social Democrats are routed on Sunday, but defeat would be certain to hurt his standing in the party and make it harder for him to get laws passed without backing from the Christian Democrats (CDU).
Losing Lower Saxony will make it all but impossible for the government to circumvent the CDU's majority in the Bundesrat upper house of parliament, where 16 states are represented.
Political analysts say defeat could silence the SPD's left wing, which has opposed moves by Economy Minister Wolfgang Clement to deregulate the labour market.
Losses could also underline the perception that, without radical cuts to the cost-laden social system that has made jobs too expensive for many companies, the government would fail to cut unemployment and lose power in the next general election.
January unemployment data due on Wednesday are expected to show a rise to 4.55 million on an unadjusted basis, the highest level for that month in five years.
I am not so sure.
It will eliminate one of the most dangerous enemies of the United States of America.
If you don't see how this will help Western democracy, well....
Naturally, I've played tourist in Berlin.........The new Reichstag (with the spiral staicase embedded in the see-through dome) is pretty cool. I've walked to the top. Also, I've been to the top of the East Berlin Radio-Spike-Tower, Brandenburg gate, The Tiergarten, Berlin Zoo, Checkpoint Charlie, Ka-De-Vay and the Kurfurstendamm shopping district, Potsdam and various museums etc., etc., etc.
My 'pleasure' trip to Celle this time was to contact a possible distantly-related relative who I have been in contact with over the internet. We, coincidentally, have both been doing geneologies on ourselves. I took a 'bullet' train from Berlin to Hannover. The town-center of Celle was amazing and a lot of the buildings were built in 16 & 1700's. It reminded me of an old European village out of the middle ages with a castle at one end. Very, very beautiful!!!!!!!
There was a Christmas Festival going on at the time and we walked around 'Old-town Celle' eating and drinking our way through the city center for hours.
As it turns out my host MAY be related to me...........we both trace our father's ancestries back to the same town (Gorlice) in southeastern Poland {This area has changed hands many times and was once part of both Austria and Ukraine}.
Interestingly, both the American Presidents, Harry Truman and Franklin Roosevelt, trace their ancestries to Celle.
No, I do not believe that Iraq is a threat comparable to Nazi Germany. I am more afraid of re-militarisation of Germany. If Germans want to be pacifists, let them remain so!
Saddam will die anyway like Castro. Little pressure and some sanctions (I would limit them to the military stuff) are more than enough.
I would focus on Islamists, on help for secularists in Muslim countries. Exert pressure on Saudi Arabia to stop promoting Mulism radicalism, cut all direct and indirect help to the KLA, Wahhabites in Chechnya etc ...
I would limit Muslim immigration to Western countries, I would promote pro-family policies so Western countries can perpetuate themselves without import of people from abroad. Less abortions more support to families with children.
I would work to revive Christain religion and morality - the main source of Western superiority over Muslim world. If Western mass media returned to the roots of Western culture they would become the most powerful tool to reform the worl. Nothing can measure up to the truth. Voice of Solzhenitsyn inspired by the Gospel of Christ had enough power to crumble walls of Gulag. Why not to do the same in Middle East?
I know, it will not happen.
You see, this is the key. If you prefer to kill unborn chilren for the sake of material efficiency or for free market competition than we are not superior to Muslims but inferior and deserve to loose.
Christian civilisation was not build on pursuit of material happiness. Remove the Gospel and it will degenerate into something worse than was in pagan times.
BTW, no nation would survive if only well-off had children. Most of people for most of the history were poor and had less than enough.
No, but it has been severely damaged, and it will be on ice until Schroeder is gone.
Here's to hoping that the state elections today are a total rout of the Social Democrats.
I love it! Say goodnight, Gerhard!
It couldn't happen to a better person, with the possible exception of the President of France.
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