Exit polls show defeat for Schroeder party in German state elections

APNewsAlert | February 2002

[HAL9000]

APNewsAlert

BERLIN, Feb 02, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party loses two German state elections, exit polls say.

Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved

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[tictoc]

CDU = Christian Democratic Union. "Conservatives" whose domestic policies are slightly to the left of Tony Blair's New Labour. They are vacillating on foreign policy, scared of forcefully countering Schroeder's anti-Americanism, but generally more inclined to preserve Germany's ties with NATO and the U.S.

SPD = Social Democratic Party. A mix of crypto-Marxists and Big Labor. Tired and old. Voters finally wising up to their total economic incompetence.

Greens = Nutty eco-freaks, not-so-crypto Marxists, and many many teachers and other state employees parasitically preying on the working population. A smattering of smart people with semi-reasonable ideas on economics.

FDP = Free Democratic Party. Ostensibly economic liberals. Used to be pro-small business, now largely in the pocket of multi-billion dollar corporations. Stirrings of civil liberty (rights of individual citizens versus all-powerful state) have not been entirely extinguished.

[logic101.net]

How often do they have elections over there? Didn't they just have one?


MARK A SITY
http://www.logic101.net/

[tictoc]

Only two of fifteen state parliaments voted (Hessen and Lower Saxony).

[elhombrelibre]

Okay, Michael in Dusseldorf, get out of the Gasthaus, put down the Hefeweisen, and give us the instight for what comes next.

[TRY ONE]

Election Results:

Der Bears: 1

Der Weasels: 0

[Siobhan]

Those numbers are astounding. What a humiliating defeat. The CDU are probably scratching their heads wondering how they can repeat it and missing the fact that it isn't because the CDU is so grand but because Schroeder is so vile.

[aristeides]

Results for SPD and CDU look like what the polls predicted. But it looks as if the Greens did worse, and the FDP better, than the polls were predicting. That's very good.

[RedWhiteBlue]

You were correct!

[elhombrelibre]

He's not here right now. He's at the Gasthaus.

[tictoc]

Hi Siobhan,

What a humiliating defeat.

Yes indeedy. Schroeder is toast now :-)

The SPD will now try to kick his sorry butt out of Berlin and replace him with Clement, the economics minister.

The job of the CDU is not to give the SPD a chance to regroup. CDU and FDP now have a clear majority in the Bundesrat, which is sort of an upper house composed of delegates from state parliaments and which co-decides on important legislation.

The CDU must use this as a hammer to bludgeon the Red-Greens over the head, while quietly working to "turn" a handful of SPD/GReen legislators in the Bundestag, the national parliament, and force a vote of no-confidence.

Germany is chest-deep in mud. There isn't time to wait four years for the next national election.

[americanbychoice]

Hi Tictoc, nice to see you at your best again.
The "narcissist" Schroeder is such a lightweight, he reminds me of Nero. Someone needs to give him a Fiddle.

[aristeides]

Doesn't the Bonn constitution (Grundgesetz) make votes of no confidence a lot harder than under the Weimar constitution?

[AmishDude]

Any chance this will inspire a vote of no confidence in Schroeder? (I know it doesn't change the party numbers in the Bundestag(sp?), but still...)

[aristeides]

Die Welt says Schroeder and his party are now in deep trouble: Der Bundes-SPD droht ein Richtungsstreit .

[tictoc]

Doesn't the Bonn constitution (Grundgesetz) make votes of no confidence a lot harder than under the Weimar constitution?

Art. 67
(Mißtrauensvotum)

(1) Der Bundestag kann dem Bundeskanzler das Misstrauen nur dadurch aussprechen, dass er mit der Mehrheit seiner Mitglieder einen Nachfolger wählt und den Bundespräsidenten ersucht, den Bundeskanzler zu entlassen. Der Bundespräsident muss dem Ersuchen entsprechen und den Gewählten ernennen.

(2) Zwischen dem Antrag und der Wahl müssen 48 Stunden liegen.

My translation:

Article 67 of German "Basic Law" (constitution)
(Vote of no confidence)

(1) The Bundestag may express its lack of confidence in the chancellor. The only way to do so is when a majority of Bundestag members elects a successor and requests that the president of the Republic dismiss the chancellor. The president is then obligated to comply with the request and appoint the chancellor-elect.

(2) A minimum of 48 hours must lie between the proposal and the vote.

That's it! As easy as pie... all it takes is a few defections, and some greasing of palms :-)

[Michael81Dus]

We´re all aware of that (we - those who still THINK here).

[Michael81Dus]

I´m here!

[Michael81Dus]

Correct, just one thing: we´ve 16 states, not 15. :-)

[Michael81Dus]

It makes. We need a majority of the Bundestag parliament - a majority of the total number of members. So at least some Reds/Greens have to give their vote to a CDU-candidate.

[tictoc]

Oh, did I forget Saarland again?

I'm sorry Oskar!