🇩🇪 German elections (federal & EU level)

[Sozialliberal]

Just came back from Esslingen, near Stuttgart at a SPD rally. Olaf Scholz gave a great speech about several policy proposals, especially securing jobs and managing the transformation to a corbon neutral economy of the future. He even was humerous at times and certainly not the Scholzomat from a few years ago. At the end, we were able to take a couple of photos with him.

Scholz surprised me and many others during the last months. I really didn't expect those gains for the SPD in the polls. Kudos to him!

Are the FDP really going for a Jamaica over icing CDU in opposition, or is it a negotiation trick anticipating the traffic light coalition?

A large part of the FDP's base is rather conservative. They view CDU/CSU as their natural governing partners and SPD/Greens as the socialist baddies. These people already feel uncomfortable in a coalition with the Greens. I'm not sure if they can handle being in government with the SPD and the Greens at the same time. Personally, I believe a traffic light coalition should be an option for the FDP if it wants to be a true reform party of the center. It will eventually happen at federal level, but I'm not sure if it'll be this year. I know, there's already a traffic light government in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, but RLP has been an outlier in terms of SPD/FDP cooperation since the 1990s.

Additionally, FDP chairman and top candidate Lindner frequently praises chancellor candidate Laschet (CDU). He says Laschet is a much better team player than Merkel who only thinks of her own party. Remember how the FDP got destroyed in the 2013 election? The FDP has been working together with Laschet in the NRW state government since 2017, and the state party's experience with him has been very positive.

[Sozialliberal]

Shameless lack-of-an-answer-induced repost:

Having not paid as much attention to this election as I would've liked to, would it be right to state that the only mathematically possible coalitions that'd also be politically possible (i.e., not including AfD) can be traffic-light (SPD/Green/FDP), Jamaica (Union/Green/FDP), GroKo but with the SPD heading it, & R2G (SPD/Green/Linke), with traffic-light at about a 2/3rds chance, R2G at about a 1/3rd chance, & reverse-GroKo & Jamaica being extremely unlikely?

If the SPD is the strongest party on election day, traffic light or R2G are the likeliest options. If CDU/CSU are strongest, Jamaica is likeliest. Another GroKo would be an emergency solution if no other coalition is mathematically possible.

It's Allensbach with a strong CDU/CSU house effect, but this poll isn't really good news for Linke:

https://twitter.com/Wahlrecht_de/status/1441408743401410562?s=19

It's would be so hilarious for Die Linke to be out and SPD-Greens having a majority. Still doubt that will happen though.

Die Linke definitely has its place in the political spectrum, but they should get rid of the Maduro apologists on their left fringe. Maybe it would help if they dropped out of parliament. There are reasonable people in the reformist wing of the party.

[Sozialliberal]

Why does it rate traffic light as less likely than R2G?

This forecaster asked scholars in political science about how likely they would evaluate certain coalition options. I don't know how the methodology exactly works (I think they might have in their Q&A - in English too btw - and explained thoroughly how they got to the result), but I assume that at least based on their manifestos, R2G has many more political similarities than a traffic light coalition.

Then again, the scholar survey might be somewhat older, and considering that Die Linke is a party with lots of internal struggle, I could easily some parts of the party opposing R2G and rather want the party to recover as left-wing force in opposition to any government involving the Greens. If R2G achieves a narrow majority only, that might be a crucial factor.

I'm still not too convinced that a traffic light coalition is all but certain, since - as some posters had stated before - the FDP base is more conservative than the party leadership and a potential coalition treaty might be up for a vote among the membership base (that was planned with Jamaica in 2017). The sole prospect of governing with the Greens would be a reason for some parts of the base to reject a coalition treaty, although the FDP might just opt for a convention, where an approval would be very likely.

My (admittedly not very well informed) opinion is that if the FDP leadership is sure enough that it wants traffic light they will just go for a convention, to ensure it passes.

That's possible, but Scholz would have to put an attractive offer on the table to convince the FDP leadership that traffic light is better than Jamaica.

Die Linke definitely has its place in the political spectrum, but they should get rid of the Maduro apologists on their left fringe. Maybe it would help if they dropped out of parliament. There are reasonable people in the reformist wing of the party.

Something I've noticed is that a lot of polls have had Die Linke near the threshold, but I haven't seen any that have had them at or below the threshold. Is there any real sense that they're in danger of missing out? I'm guessing that they're not going to win enough direct seats for the threshold not to matter.

The latest Allensbach poll has Die Linke at 5% (see previous page). Well, I remember that none of the polls had the FDP below the threshold shortly before the 2013 election, but they ended up below it anyway. Yes, the direct seats would probably save Die Linke in such a scenario, but I'm not 100% sure (maybe 80%).

[Sozialliberal]

I have a question here. I have been talking to a few foreign exchange students I met who are German about their thoughts. (They mostly are supporting Schultz/SPD or the Greens). They all mostly said the FDP is the “business party, and they really don’t care much to get involved with social issues.”

My question is, would the FDP be similar to the Libertarian party in America? Or, would it be more like “country club/business Republicans?” One of them mentioned the FDP is the “party for the rich.” I figured you guys would know more.

In German, the word "social" (sozial) can mean "serving the common good". I think that's what they might have meant when they were talking about "social issues". You know, there are stereotypes about party supporters: "FDP supporters are cold-hearted capitalists." "Greens are smug do-gooders who tell everyone else how to run their lives." "Linke supporters are DDR nostalgics." Et cetera.

A few years ago, I myself wouldn't have voted for the FDP, but I think the federal party is moving in a good direction. There is a new generation of younger FDP politicians who stress that equal opportunity is an important part of liberalism. For example, I really like Johannes Vogel, the FDP's spokesman for labor market and pension policy. He was elected one of the FDP's three vice-chairpeople this year, and I hope he will play a big role in the party's future.

You also have to remember that American politics is very different from German politics (or European politics in general). The libertarian movement in Germany is so tiny that it's politically irrelevant. FDP chairman Lindner said in an interview that if he were an American politician, he'd support universal health care. All major parties in Germany agree that universal health care is a good thing.

Here's how Germany would have voted in the last United States presidential elections:

Date: October 2020
Polling organization: Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Would vote for Biden: 89%
Would vote for Trump: 4%
Source: https://www.forschungsgruppe.de/Umfragen/Politbarometer/Archiv/Politbarometer_2020/Oktober_II_2020/

Date: October 2016
Polling organization: Forschungsgruppe Wahlen
Would vote for Clinton: 90%
Would vote for Trump: 4%
Source: https://www.forschungsgruppe.de/Umfragen/Politbarometer/Archiv/Politbarometer_2016/Oktober_I_2016/

Date: August 2012
Polling organization: Forsa
Would vote for Obama: 86%
Would vote for Romney: 5%
Source: https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/umfrage-die-meisten-deutschen-wuerden-obama-waehlen-a-851380.html

[Sozialliberal]

Overall, I'm very happy about the election result. I think Lindner's plan is to persuade Baerbock to enter government with his buddy Laschet, but if she's smart, she won't give in to that. In my opinion, it's now Scholz's turn to try and form a government.

If it's so easy for SSW to get that one seat, why did they not run in federal elections for several decades, until now?

The SSW is a regional party in Schleswig-Holstein that represents two ethnic minorities that are recognized by the German state: The Danish minority and the Frisian minority. There are two groups within the party: The first group believes the SSW should lobby for the rights of the Danish/Frisian minority (school lessons in Danish/Frisian etc.) and the economic and cultural interests of Southern Schleswig (the region where Danes/Frisians live), but otherwise remain politically neutral ("neither supporting nor overturning a government"). The second group thinks the SSW should have a broad platform that includes non-ethnic issues as well and have the option of joining governments. Before 2021, the last time the SSW participated in a Bundestag election was in 1961. In the following decades, there were discussions about running for Bundestag again, but the majority of the party was always against it. Since the 1960s the influence of the second group has been growing steadily. In 2012, the SSW joined an SPD/Greens state government in Schleswig-Holstein. This year, the party has run for Bundestag and won a seat. I don't think they would have won that seat if they had campaigned only on Danish/Frisian issues. They had a fairly populist campaign about Schleswig-Holstein (the entire state, not just the area where most Danes/Frisians live) not being treated fairly by the rest of Germany (lowest wages in the west, highest electricity prices while producing the highest share of renewable energy, and so on).

[Sozialliberal]

Best Union result (on the list) was not in Bavaria but Lower Saxony: Clopenburg-Vechta with 38.4%. That's less than the CDU's national result in 2013.

Anyone know why the CDU is so strong in that particular seat? It's surrounded by SPD seats, too.

There are two reasons for that:

1. Agriculture plays a very important role in the constituency's economy. Most farmers are loyal CDU/CSU supporters.

2. Majority Catholic, which is unusual for northern Germany. See this map (percentage of Catholics by district, 2011 census). Very religious overall.

[Sozialliberal]

In addition to palandio's maps on the previous page, I'd like to list the constituencies with the lowest and highest support for each coalition. Moreover, I'll try to explain why the constituencies voted that way.

Traffic light coalition (SPD + Greens + FDP)

Highest percentages:
69.3 Hamburg-Eimsbüttel (Hamburg)
67.3 Hamburg-Nord (Hamburg)
67.0 Hamburg-Mitte (Hamburg)
67.0 Stadt Hannover II (Lower Saxony)
66.8 Hamburg-Altona (Hamburg)
66.0 Köln II (North Rhine-Westphalia)
66.0 Oldenburg – Ammerland (Lower Saxony)
65.2 Aurich – Emden (Lower Saxony)
65.2 Stadt Hannover I (Lower Saxony)
64.8 Kiel (Schleswig-Holstein)

Lowest percentages:
30.6 Straubing (Bavaria)
30.9 Deggendorf (Bavaria)
31.2 Rottal-Inn (Bavaria)
31.5 Erzgebirgskreis I (Saxony)
31.6 Schwandorf (Bavaria)
31.7 Görlitz (Saxony)
31.9 Bautzen I (Saxony)
32.5 Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (Saxony)
34.1 Altötting (Bavaria)
34.7 Mittelsachsen (Saxony)

Comment: Most strongholds of the traffic light coalition are in urban areas. It is especially strong in Hamburg, a city with a large international seaport. Many foreign sailors and businesspeople have been coming to Hamburg for centuries, which is why a liberal "Live and let live" attitude is more prevalent there than in some other German cities. The worst election results for traffic light can be found in rural, socially conservative areas.
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Jamaica coalition (CDU/CSU + Greens + FDP)

Highest percentages:
65.5 München-Land (Bavaria)
65.4 Köln II (North Rhine-Westphalia)
65.1 Stuttgart I (Baden-Württemberg)
64.3 Düsseldorf I (North Rhine-Westphalia)
64.2 München-Ost (Bavaria)
63.9 München-West/Mitte (Bavaria)
63.8 Münster (North Rhine-Westphalia)
63.5 Starnberg – Landsberg am Lech (Bavaria)
63.3 München-Nord (Bavaria)
62.6 Aachen I (North Rhine-Westphalia)

Lowest percentages:
28.5 Elbe-Elster – Oberspreewald-Lausitz II (Brandenburg)
29.1 Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg (Thuringia)
29.9 Prignitz – Ostprignitz-Ruppin – Havelland I (Brandenburg)
29.9 Gotha – Ilm-Kreis (Thuringia)
30.1 Cottbus – Spree-Neiße (Brandenburg)
30.1 Frankfurt (Oder) – Oder-Spree (Brandenburg)
30.3 Saalfeld-Rudolstadt – Saale-Holzland-Kreis – Saale-Orla-Kreis (Thuringia)
30.4 Uckermark – Barnim I (Brandenburg)
30.6 Gera – Greiz – Altenburger Land (Thuringia)
30.9 Mecklenburgische Seenplatte I – Vorpommern-Greifswald II (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)

Comment: CDU/CSU, Greens and FDP all do well with high-income voters. Therefore, the Jamaica coalition received the highest vote shares in affluent constituencies. Conversely, constituencies with low support for Jamaica are less affluent (cf. map of purchasing power in Germany by districts, 2018).
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Red-Red-Green coalition (SPD + Greens + Linke)

Highest percentages:
74.0 Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg Ost (Berlin)
65.9 Berlin-Mitte (Berlin)
65.3 Hamburg-Mitte (Hamburg)
64.9 Hamburg-Altona (Hamburg)
64.7 Hamburg-Eimsbüttel (Hamburg)
63.8 Stadt Hannover II (Lower Saxony)
62.2 Berlin-Pankow (Berlin)
61.3 Bremen I (Bremen)
61.0 Köln III (North Rhine-Westphalia)
60.6 Oldenburg – Ammerland (Lower Saxony)

Lowest percentages:
23.3 Rottal-Inn (Bavaria)
23.7 Straubing (Bavaria)
24.2 Deggendorf (Bavaria)
25.9 Altötting (Bavaria)
26.3 Schwandorf (Bavaria)
27.9 Donau-Ries (Bavaria)
28.3 Landshut (Bavaria)
28.4 Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (Saxony)
28.8 Bautzen I (Saxony)
28.9 Erzgebirgskreis I (Saxony)

Comment: Unsurprisingly, Red-Red-Green is most popular in Germany's most hipsterish constituency. It's interesting to see that some RRG strongholds are also traffic light strongholds. Likewise, Red-Red-Green's weakest results are in rural, socially conservative areas.
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Grand coalition (SPD + CDU/CSU)

Highest percentages:
64.8 Mittelems (Lower Saxony)
63.9 Unterems (Lower Saxony)
63.8 St. Wendel (Saarland)
63.1 Cloppenburg – Vechta (Lower Saxony)
62.9 Borken II (North Rhine-Westphalia)
62.5 Steinfurt I – Borken I (North Rhine-Westphalia)
62.2 Hochsauerlandkreis (North Rhine-Westphalia)
61.5 Goslar – Northeim – Osterode (Lower Saxony)
61.2 Cuxhaven – Stade II (Lower Saxony)
61.1 Coesfeld – Steinfurt II (North Rhine-Westphalia)

Lowest percentages:
26.2 Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg Ost (Berlin)
30.1 Dresden II – Bautzen II (Saxony)
32.6 Berlin-Mitte (Berlin)
32.6 Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (Saxony)
33.7 Berlin-Pankow (Berlin)
34.0 Leipzig II (Saxony)
34.4 Dresden I (Saxony)
35.0 Berlin-Lichtenberg (Berlin)
35.1 Görlitz (Saxony)
35.2 Meißen (Saxony)

Comment: The parties of the grand coalition got their best results in rural constituencies. As many younger people are moving away to the big cities, the rural population has a higher average age. Because older people tend to be more set in their ways, they're more loyal to the parties they're voting for. If someone has been voting CDU/CSU or SPD all their life, they're more likely to continue doing so. The constituencies with the weakest support for the grand coalition can be divided into two groups: The first group is urban constituencies with a very young population. The second group is rural constituencies in the former German Democratic Republic (commonly known as East Germany). Obviously, the AfD greatly cut into the grand coalition's vote share in the east, especially in Saxony. That's partly because the people in the east couldn't participate in democratic elections before 1990, which is why the older people there feel less attached to political parties than their counterparts in the west.

[Sozialliberal]

So major update: According to ZEIT, cabinet positions will be allocated as follows:

SPD:
- Chancellorship and Chief of Chancellery
- Interior
- Defense
- Construction & Housing
- Labor & Social Affairs
- Health
- Economic Development

Greens:
- Economy & Climate
- Foreign
- Family Affairs
- Agriculture
- Environment & Consumer Protection

FDP:
- Finance
- Justice
- Traffic
- Education & Science

Germany has a Minister of Traffic?? Or is that the person that works the traffic lights for the coalition? (lol)

Building of federal road, Autobahnen, railroad tracks, public transport, all kind of regulatory stuff concerning vehicles, airflight and so on ... the number one word for Germans to translate "Verkehr" into English would be "traffic". This isn't right, though?

It's called "transport" or "transportation" in English. The counterparts in other countries are the Secretary of Transportation in the United States (currently Pete Buttigieg), the Minister of Transport in Canada (currently Omar Alghabra), and the Secretary of State for Transport in the United Kingdom (currently Grant Shapps).

[Sozialliberal]

Press conference ongoing. Title of the coalition agreement is "Mehr Fortschritt wagen - Bündnis für Freiheit, Gerechtigkeit und Nachhaltigkeit", which essentially means "dare to make more progress - alliance for liberty, justice and sustainability". It's 177 pages long.

Some highlights:

- Germany will exit coal energy by 2030, eight years ahead of schedule.
- Massive investments in renewable energies
- Minimum wage increase to 12,- € per hour, as promised by the SPD
- At least 400,000 new housing units per year to relieve the overheated real estate market, the rent cap will stay in place.
- Debt brake will stay in place
- Part of social security funds will be invested at the capital market for higher return of capital (key promise by the FDP). No social security cuts.
- Bonus payment for all medical workers during the pandemic; the new federal government will provide one billion euros.
- Canabis will be decriminalized and regulated sale.
- Committment to the European Union and a strong Transatlantic alliance.

Furthermore, Robert Habeck (Greens) will become vice chancellor.

Olaf Scholz said that coalition talks were constructive and personal chemistry among key actors was good. Lindner subsequently praised him as competent and strong leader.

Here's the agreement:

https://twitter.com/spdde/status/1463515603159990273

Some other points in the coalition agreement that I'd like to highlight:

• People on unemployment benefits who have a part-time job will be allowed to keep more of their earnings.
  
• Introducing a points-based immigration system (like in Canada).
• Long-term goal of raising the share of electricity from renewable sources to 80% until the year 2030
• More financial resources will be allocated to schools in poorer areas of the country. The FDP has already started such a pilot project at state level in North Rhine-Westphalia.
• Financial aid for lifelong learning so that it's easier to change careers even when you're middle-aged, which is important because the modern working world is changing fast.
• Parental income will affect student grants less in means tests (important for young people who are estranged from their parents and don't receive any financial support from them).
• Self-employed people who are voluntary members of the statutory health insurance will no longer have to pay a minimum contribution that is higher than the combined employee-and-employer minimum contribution for employees.
• Doctors will be allowed to use their websites to inform people on abortion procedures. Here's why that's important: In a highly publicized court case, a physician was ordered to pay a fine because she had put that kind of information on her website. CDU/CSU blocked further reform of the relevant law during their coalition with the SPD. Regardless of where you stand on the abortion issue, you must acknowledge it doesn't make sense that doctors are allowed to perform abortions, but they're not allowed to inform the public on the procedure.

[Sozialliberal]

Do you mind if I repost your summar of the manifesto on another forum ?

No, go ahead. I'm very much in favor of sharing knowledge.

[Sozialliberal]

So Scholz now wants to make vaccination mandatory, just like in Austria. His first broken promise: in September, right before the election, he said he opposed it. Truly wonder whether the FDP will accept this.

It won't matter. Scholz wants to go ahead the way exactly what Marco Buschmann said he supports: Bundestag to decide without fraction discipline or coalition discipline. Which should pass easily with substantial CDU/CSU and even Linke support, and allows the FDP to save face without harming the coalition. Although I personally think it is likely they will water it down a bit to something like all professions with customer contact/medical care/education etc. because mandatory vaccinations for all could be legally difficult to implement.

Exactly, and the public is on his side as well. In a most recent poll, 69% were in favor of a general vaccine mandate.

I just think politicians of all parties except for AfD should never have ruled out the mandate indefinitely before. However, I don't think it's fair to accuse them of breaking promises since circumstances have vastly changed. Who in the world hasn't changed a position at some point when new scientific evidence comes in? Back in spring and summer, the expectation was that 75-80% or even 85% would get vaccinated, which would have been enough for the Alpha variant. Now we're talking about Delta, which requires around 85%. And who knows what happens with Omicron? For the sake of our collective health and the economic stability, we need a mandate to prevent a fifth wave in spring or next fall.

I believe FDP politician Andrew Ullmann said it best when he said that the FDP is not only a party of liberty, but also a party of responsibility. Ullmann (who is a German-American dual citizen by the way) teaches about infectious diseases at the University of Würzburg. He has been a Bundestag member for the FDP since 2017.

It's not responsible that the intensive care units of some hospitals are overcrowded because people have refused to get vaccinated without good reason. There's a young woman in Bavaria who has two children aged two and four years old. She has breast cancer, and she's very worried that her tumor operation might be postponed because the hospital has to treat so many COVID-19 patients. The woman lives in daily fear that her children will have to grow up without her. Around 75% of German hospitals already had to postpone plannable operations. Without compulsory vaccinations for everyone who can get vaccinated, we could experience a fifth or maybe even a sixth wave of infections.

Most of the agenda look like leftist.

I am impressed how the FDP did the concessions easily.

The FDP of today no longer turns a blind eye to poverty. The party has moved to the left under Lindner's leadership (although he would never admit that). Two of the FDP's principles are "world-class education for everyone" and "getting ahead through personal achievement". While politicians of Die Linke will agree with the first principle, they will have doubts about the second.

The Green showdown for ministerial positions has come to an end:

- Economy and Climate: Robert Habeck
- Foreign Affairs: Annalena Baerbock
- Agriculture: Cem Özdemir
- Family Affairs: Anne Spiegel
- Environment: Steffi Lemke
- State Secretary for Culture and Media: Claudia Roth

Isn't  Özdemir an urbanite politican with a mostly city-based district ? Does he have any experience or antyhing with agriculture ? seems like a bizzare spot for a politican of his caliber and experience.

Yeah, it surprised me too at first, but after thinking about it, this decision makes perfect sense. In the 80s and 90s, CDU/CSU and the Greens were very hostile towards each other (Baden-Württemberg being a bit of an exception). So in 1995, individual politicians both from the Union and the Greens formed a discussion group to find points of agreement. This group is known as the "Pizza Connection", so called because it met at an Italian restaurant. A prominent critic of the group, then CSU general secretary Bernd Protzner, came up with the name that is reminiscent of Italian American mobsters. Cem Özdemir was also part of the so-called "Pizza Connection" in the 90s, which means he has a lot of experience in trying to find common ground with conservatives. As agriculture minister, he will need this experience because most German farmers are loyal CDU/CSU voters who are sceptical about a Green agriculture minister. Joachim Rukwied, chairman of Germany's largest farmers' association (and also a CDU member!), has already praised Özdemir as a pragmatist.

Isn't  Özdemir an urbanite politican with a mostly city-based district ? Does he have any experience or antyhing with agriculture ? seems like a bizzare spot for a politican of his caliber and experience.

Qualification has never been a prerequisite for a cabinet post in German politics. That's why Dr. Lauterbach is likely to never become health minister. (That and because Olaf Scholz and the FDP despise him.)
Özdemir ought to become Foreign Minister, not only because he is fluent in at least two more languages than ACAB. (That and because PUTP disdains him.)
In Schleswig-Holstein, for example, we have a Green kindergarten teacher as Finance Minister.
Another apt example is Sigmar Gabriel and Barbara Hendricks, both of whom were appointed environment minister despite Michael Müller (not to be confused with the current Berlin Mayor), a renowned environmental politician and environmentalist journalist) desperately seeking the nomination.

Lauterbach is certainly a respectable academic, and I like his constructive style of communication, but that doesn't automatically make him a good minister. Most importantly, you need leadership skills and political instinct as a minister. You must know how to motivate people because you won't get far if you don't have loyal staff who do groundwork for you.

https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/corona-christian-lindner-will-wohl-fuer-impfpflicht-stimmen-a-e7f1311a-8a8b-4a0d-b0f3-58669e08f560

Lindner says he is leaning towards mandatory vaccination, and he will most likely vote for it. On the point of the FDP being dominant in the negotiations on economic issues, its is often neglected just how many previously unimaginable ideological sacrifices the FDP has been willing to make in terms of pandemic fighting. For all three parties this is a permanent political realignment, bigger than any idea or concept, bigger than the interests or privileges of any one individual or group. Comparable to 1969.

We've never seen anything like this pandemic in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. It's therefore not surprising that the FDP is struggling to find the right balance between personal liberty and public security. I don't think the situation would be any different if the FDP had entered a Jamaica coalition.

Angela Merkel chose a Nina Hagen song to the band of the army to play in her farewell cerimony https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/music/angela-merkel-nina-hagen-song-farewell

"Großer Zapfenstreich" (Grand Tattoo) is the highest ranking German military ceremony that is performed for civilians. It's a farewell present for outgoing presidents, chancellors and ministers of defense. The honored person can request up to four songs to be played by the military band. The news channel Phoenix compiled some highlights from previous grand tattoos in a video. Gerhard Schröder's grand tattoo was perhaps the most memorable one. He broke down in tears while the band was playing Frank Sinatra's "My Way" for him.

The songs are:

• Ludwig van Beethoven – Ode to Joy (requested by Chancellor Helmut Kohl, 1998)
• Johann Sebastian Bach – Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (requested by President Johannes Rau, 2004)
• Frank Sinatra – My Way (requested by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, 2005)
• Michael Englert – Wann wir schreiten Seit' an Seit' (traditional labor movement song, often played at the end of SPD conventions, requested by Minister of Defense Peter Struck, 2005)
• W. C. Handy – St. Louis Blues (requested by President Horst Köhler, 2010)
• Deep Purple – Smoke on the Water (requested by Minister of Defense Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, 2011)

[Sozialliberal]

SPD Convention has formally approved the coalition agreement with more than 98% of the vote earlier today. A remarkably strong result, but you really feel how the party is excited over winning the chancellorship again. Scholz also gave a good speech at the convention, that mostly took place online.

FDP Convention is about to take place tomorrow and almost certainly vote in favor, too.

Greens are currently holding an online referendum among their members, which most likely will approve the agreement as well.

92.2% of the FDP delegates have approved the coalition agreement (6.4% no-votes and 1.4% abstentions). The Greens will announce the results of their membership vote tomorrow.