2011 State Elections in Germany

[Franzl]

Well congratulations Wowereit. Only in Berlin...

[Tender Branson]

The Linke is almost halved incomparison with 2006, when they ran on 2 platforms (Linke+WASG).

[Middle-aged Europe]

Interesting numbers for the Greens in Baden-Württemberg... considering that they're failing to prevent Stuttgart 21 there. The fact that Kretschmann is the very definition of both "folksy" and "presidential" easily explains this though, I suppose.

And regarding those Berlin numbers. It's worth to point out that the very same poll has the Pirate Party at 4.5%. Yay! Could Berlin actually be "boarded" by them on Sept. 18?

[MaxQue]

No buyer remorse in B-W, I see.

I'm surprised, I thought they would quickly regret dumping CDU.

[Franzl]

No buyer remorse in B-W, I see.

I'm surprised, I thought they would quickly regret dumping CDU.

Surprisingly, I somewhat approve of the Green led government in B-W. Never thought I'd say that.

[MaxQue]

No buyer remorse in B-W, I see.

I'm surprised, I thought they would quickly regret dumping CDU.

Surprisingly, I somewhat approve of the Green led government in B-W. Never thought I'd say that.

Are they ruling from the right, or what?

[Franzl]

No buyer remorse in B-W, I see.

I'm surprised, I thought they would quickly regret dumping CDU.

Surprisingly, I somewhat approve of the Green led government in B-W. Never thought I'd say that.

Are they ruling from the right, or what?

For green standards maybe, but not particularly really. Kretschmann is a pragmatist, though. Certainly not a "normal" Green any way you look at it.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Kretschmann refused to move into the minister-president's official residence and traded his predecessor's Mercedes limousine against smaller, less exlusive car. In addition to that, he tries to look and sound like a non-partisan politician.

No wonder his popularity shoots through the roof. He's like the version of Obama people expected to get.

[Tender Branson]

The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern SPD is now pulling away from the CDU, according to a new Infratest-dimap poll conducted for the NDR two weeks ahead of the state elections:



Direct vote for Governor:



"Which party is close to the citizen's views ?"

[Tender Branson]

Erwin Sellering must be really a popular guy if he gets 70% in the direct vote against the CDU guy. Even if he gets 90% support from SPD-Green-Left-supporters, he'd still have only 55%, which means he also gets a very good amount of CDU-FDP-supporters in this matchup. In fact, he must get about 1/2 of them ...

[Middle-aged Europe]

Interestingly, Caffier is a former citizen of the GDR (and a member of the East German CDU since 1979), while Sellering is originally a Westerner who had moved to the state in 1994.

[Middle-aged Europe]

"Which party is close to the citizen's views ?"

The Greens beat the CDU on that one in Mecklenburg? Wow.

[DL]

This poll makes it look just barely possible that a red/green government would be possible. Would the spd go for that if it was mathematically possible?

[Middle-aged Europe]

This poll makes it look just barely possible that a red/green government would be possible. Would the spd go for that if it was mathematically possible?

Possibly... probably... up to this point nobody was taking into consideration as a serious option.

[Tender Branson]

Berliners Still Can't Work Out Who's Torching Their Luxury Cars

Berlin has seen a forth night of arson attacks on it's luxury cars, reports The Local.

The attacks have been a regular feature of life in the German capital for some time, yet the latest round of attacks and their newfound intensity has everyone asking: who is behind this, and why can't the police catch them?

Even Angela Merkel has began to talk about the attacks, telling reporters on Thursday that "Human lives are being put at risk in a cold-blooded way."

Der Spiegel notes that the attacks are easy to get away with. Berlin has over 1 million cars, and the tools for the attacks -- fire lighting fluid, sprayed on tires set alight -- impossible to control or even track.

For some, the attacks bring to mind the attacks of the 1970s leftist Red Army Faction (RAF). “The RAF terror also began with ‘only’ arson at on point,” Wolfgang Bosbach of Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union told the N24 television station on Thursday.

However, others note that Berlin's far left groups seem to be disapproving of the attacks.

“The extreme left scene is not behind these actions, and has declared themselves not in agreement with them,” said police president Margarete Koppers. “These actions are rather frowned upon. They also have absolutely nothing to do with terrorism. There is no serious political aim cannot be determined.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/berlin-arson-cars-2011-8#ixzz1VUe4usOq

...

Maybe wealthy CDU-supporters are burning their own cars to make this a campaign issue and to increase support for the CDU ahead of the elections, then buying new cars after the elections ...

[Tender Branson]

New Emnid poll:

31%  [-2.8] CDU/CSU
29% [+6.0] SPD
20% [+9.3] Greens
  8%  [-3.9] Left
  5%  [-9.6] FDP
  7% [+1.0] Others

This is the smallest gap of CDU-SPD since 1 year ...

[Franzl]

CDU/FDP: 36%
SPD/Green: 49% (SPD/Green/Left: 57%)

I think it's pretty clear at this point (as I've said before) that this government will never be popular again.

[greenforest32]

What's the order of left-right of the German political parties? Are the Greens more leftwing than the SPD and is the FDP more left-wing than the CDU?

I've always had this view that it was something like (most left to most right) of: The Left, Greens, SPD, FDP, CDU.

[Franzl]

What's the order of left-right of the German political parties? Are the Greens more leftwing than the SPD and is the FDP more left-wing than the CDU?

I've always had this view that it was something like (most left to most right) of: The Left, Greens, SPD, FDP, CDU.

It's not really as simple as left-right. Depends what issues you're talking about, don't you think? And of course it's variable from state to state.

[Middle-aged Europe]

What's the order of left-right of the German political parties? Are the Greens more leftwing than the SPD and is the FDP more left-wing than the CDU?

I've always had this view that it was something like (most left to most right) of: The Left, Greens, SPD, FDP, CDU.

Economically, SPD and Greens are virtually identical in their stances. It's just that the Greens and their voters care less about economics than the SPD and therefore set different priorities (Ecology/Civil liberties > Economy/Social justice). And the SPD's environmental positions happen to be relatively similar to the Green ones, just not as hardcore.

The most interesting issue in Germany is probably the whole area of civil liberties/public safety, because it doesn't fit the traditional right/left spectrum. Here, it's more Greens/FDP/Left vs. CDU/SPD (therefore the Grand coalition is also the dream constellation for any law-and-order-type politician in CDU and SPD... finally no annoying do-gooders who are preventing that the gloves are coming off).


German parties on a strictly economic right-to-left spectrum:
- FDP
- CDU/CSU
- Greens*
- SPD
- The Left

* Since they care less about economic issues, they're probably more likely to compromise in this area than the SPD. So they're technically "more conservative", I suppose.


German parties on a strictly non-economic authoritarian-to-libertarian spectrum:
- CDU/CSU
- SPD
- FDP
- Greens
- The Left*

* At least officially according to their party platform. Since they're also still very fond of Fidel Castro, a lot of members of the party are probably more authoritarian than CDU/CSU in reality.


This roughly puts the parties in the following quadrants:

CDU/CSU: Authoritarian Right

FDP: Libertarian Right

SPD: Authoritarian Left

Greens: Libertarian Left

The Left: Authoritarian/Libertarian (?) Left

[greenforest32]

What's the order of left-right of the German political parties? Are the Greens more leftwing than the SPD and is the FDP more left-wing than the CDU?

I've always had this view that it was something like (most left to most right) of: The Left, Greens, SPD, FDP, CDU.

It's not really as simple as left-right. Depends what issues you're talking about, don't you think? And of course it's variable from state to state.

Yes that's true I should have specified left-right economic plane and the up/down authoritarian/libertarian plane.

What's the order of left-right of the German political parties? Are the Greens more leftwing than the SPD and is the FDP more left-wing than the CDU?

I've always had this view that it was something like (most left to most right) of: The Left, Greens, SPD, FDP, CDU.

Economically, SPD and Greens are virtually identical in their stances. It's just that the Greens and their voters care less about economics than the SPD and therefore set different priorities (Ecology/Civil liberties > Economy/Social justice). And the SPD's environmental positions happen to be relatively similar to the Green ones, just not as hardcore.

The most interesting issue in Germany is probably the whole area of civil liberties/public safety, because it doesn't fit the traditional right/left spectrum. Here, it's more Greens/FDP/Left vs. CDU/SPD (therefore the Grand coalition is also the dream constellation for any law-and-order-type politician in CDU and SPD... finally no annoying do-gooders who are preventing that the gloves are coming off).


German parties on a strictly economic right-to-left spectrum:
- FDP
- CDU/CSU
- Greens*
- SPD
- The Left

* Since they care less about economic issues, they're probably more likely to compromise in this area than the SPD. So they're technically "more conservative", I suppose.


German parties on a strictly non-economic authoritarian-to-libertarian spectrum:
- CDU/CSU
- SPD
- FDP
- Greens
- The Left*

* At least officially according to their party platform. Since they're also still very fond of Fidel Castro, a lot of members of the party are probably more authoritarian than CDU/CSU in reality.


This roughly puts the parties in the following quadrants:

CDU/CSU: Authoritarian Right

FDP: Libertarian Right

SPD: Authoritarian Left

Greens: Libertarian Left

The Left: Authoritarian/Libertarian (?) Left

Thanks for the informative post! Looks like I'd be voting Green if I was in Germany as I'm in the libertarian left quadrant but I don't really like how they would compromise more on economic issues than the SPD as you mentioned but I don't like the The Left/SPD's authoritarian slant.

Things are never perfect

[DL]

Where woulkd you situate the German parties on foreign policy, EU, military stuff etc...

[republicanism]

CDU/FDP: 36%
SPD/Green: 49% (SPD/Green/Left: 57%)

I think it's pretty clear at this point (as I've said before) that this government will never be popular again.

You remember 1999? SPD/Green 35, CDU/CSU/FDP 50, through most of the year. And now remember who was - narrowly - reelected in 2002.

[republicanism]

What's the order of left-right of the German political parties? Are the Greens more leftwing than the SPD and is the FDP more left-wing than the CDU?

I've always had this view that it was something like (most left to most right) of: The Left, Greens, SPD, FDP, CDU.

I'd put it that way:

Foreign policy: CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Greens (huge majority) = pro-NATO, interventionist <-----> Left and very few Greenies = anti-NATO, pacifist

Economics: FDP, CDU/CSU (neoliberal wing) = market liberalism <-----> CDU/CSU (center and left), SPD (rightwing), Greens (rightwing) = unimpassioned day-to-day "pragmatism" <----> SPD (leftwing), Greens (leftwing), Left = Social democracy / Democratic socialism

Environment: FDP, CDU/CSU, SPD (industrial unions and right wing) = jobs / economy first <----> SPD ("new left" wing), Greens, Left = environment first

Law & Order / Civil liberties: CDU/CSU, SPD (right) = security first <----> FDP (right wing), SPD (center and "old left") = Don't care very much <----> FDP (left wing), SPD (new left), Greens, Left = liberty first

Cultural issues / immigration etc: CDU/CSU (right) = staunch conservative <----> CDU/CSU (center and left), FDP, SPD (right, "old left") = indifferent or moderate <----> SPD ("new left"), Greens, Left = very progressive


Huge simplification, of course. Especially with the Left party it is difficult. In the East they often act mainly as a regionalist party. Which means for example that they usually support lignite open cast mining in the East (as does the SPD, while the Greens oppose it).

And of course I'm only talking about the representatives of each party in the political class. For the voters, it would be much more difficult.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Foreign/defense policy:

CDU/CSU, FDP, SPD, and Greens are more or less pro-NATO/EU/UN/United States... CDU/CSU and FDP are more on the pro-NATO/USA end of the spectrum, with Greens and SPD on the pro-EU/UN side, but these are only nuances.

I guess all these parties are also pro-military intervention, the "right" probably moreso than the "left", but this line has also become blurred in recent years. The CDU/CSU is more of a "we have go to war to defend our national interests" kind of party, while the Greens are more likely to jump on the "we have to go to war to save those poor people from genocide and oppression" train.

The Left opposes military intervention of all kinds, is strictly anti-NATO, and also critical of the EU. They like Castro and Chavez though.

Except for the Left, all parties are generally pro-Israel (well, the FDP since Jürgen Möllemann managed to kill himself). The Left is constantly bickering over the Israel/Palestine issue. There are some vocal Israel supporters (Gregor Gysi, chair of the Left's Bundestag caucus / Petra Pau, vice president of the Bundestag), but the majority of the party seems rather critical of the Jewish state. In principle, all parties are supporting the formation of a Palestinian state, of course.