GERMAN CHANCELLORS SURVIVOR- winner: Willy BRANDT, over Adenauer !

[big bad fab]

Erhard

Thanks for keeping voting in this, despite the World Leaders Survivor events

[big bad fab]

Erhard

Thanks for keeping voting in this, despite the World Leaders Survivor events

Of course.

You're a dirty conservative hack, but it's nothing personal as far as I'm concerned.

Besides, gotta save Schröder's ass for at least two or three more rounds yet. His economic policies sucked, by and large and with exceptions, but he dragged the federal government out of 16 years of effective nonexistence as far as any kind of answers to or even awareness of societal changes are concerned (including what the US calls social issues, but not limited to that). Heck, he even dragged the CDU ('s leading personnel) out of that - not that all of the answers they're giving now are better than no answer at all.

But deep down, the reason I still have a soft spot for the Patrons' Comrade is that he was, undeniably, of the Common People. And couldn't have denied it if he tried (so he made an act of it instead - part of it was an act, of course.)

Nice advocating of Schröder: I almost regret my vote. And I say it without any irony.

[big bad fab]

Erhard is out after a fiercely fought round !

ROUND TWENTY-THREE IS OPEN

I vote for Fehrenbach.
Not a bad one, but I have a stupid reason to vote for him: his name... The same as one of my "colleagues" in the ENA...
Anyway, Fehrenbach is not a brilliant one and maybe Schröder can wait for one more round...

[big bad fab]

A low turnout for the moment and not our usual voters: I let it open for some more hours.

[big bad fab]

Fehrenbach is out in a peaceful round, with a very low turnout.

ROUND TWENTY-FOUR IS OPEN

I vote for Gerhard Schröder.

[big bad fab]

Well, well, well...
I should have voted Merkel !
In this survivor, I mean

[big bad fab]

Stresemann has been clearly defeated. I must have seen more the foreign minister than the chancellor and was wrong.

ROUND TWENTY-FIVE IS OPEN

I vote for Merkel !! EDIT: Schröder !! Of course !!

[big bad fab]

Do you remember there is no precise rule in this survivor ?

So, in order to please Lewis (or not), I change my vote in... Schröder !

[big bad fab]

May I say I'm happy that Schröder is finally out ? Even with my vote remaining Merkel, he would have lost.

ROUND TWENTY-SIX IS OPEN
(list of contenders in opening post)

I vote for Merkel,
as I find difficult to oust the 2 first Chancellors of the Republic, as Wirth and Marx weren't bad men and as I know Brandt is an iconic image though he wasn't really a very good chancellor in internal affairs.

[big bad fab]

Some statistics up to now:

Biggest total of votes in the round when eliminated:
Hitler, Scheel: 9

Lowest total of votes in the round when eliminated:
Bismarck, Bethmann-Hollweg: 2

Biggest vote in a round though not being eliminated:
Bauer, Schröder: 4

Biggest total of votes up to elimination:
Erhard: 14
(Schröder: 13)

Biggest rate of valid votes:
Hertling: 100% (88,9% with invalid vote included)
(Hitler, Scheel: 90%)

Eliminated with less votes than in his "best" round:
Bauer 3 (vs 4 previously)

Eliminated with only a plurality of votes:
Krosigk: 4 out of 9
Papen: 3 out of 7
Bismarck: 2 out of 5
Bethmann-Hollweg: 2 out of 5
Brüning: 5 out of 11
Kiesinger: 3 out of 7

Eliminated without having received votes in previous rounds:
(Hitler), Goebbels, Krosigk, Papen, Brüning, Kiesinger, Fehrenbach

Biggest delay between first vote and ousting:
Scheel: 2->21
(Merkel: 2->? still in)

[big bad fab]

Old Dad Ebert is out...

ROUND TWENTY-SEVEN IS OPEN
(list of contenders in opening post)

I vote for Joseph Wirth, as nobody wants to eliminate Merkel... At least, she'll be saved in one Survivor !

[big bad fab]

Helmut Schmidt.

I'll go for Merkel after he's off, so Merkel lovers, you know the way to torture me.

A Machiavelian way to save Schmidt !
"No problemo", we'll all vote for Brandt !

[big bad fab]

Hey guys !

Hash has just launched a French Leaders Survivor, with many names you know: vote in it, it's interesting, even though you think you're not good in French politics.

But, even with this one and the unavoidable World Leaders Survivor from Hughento,

don't forget to vote in here !
Now is the time !

[big bad fab]

Wirth is out after a fiercely fought round

ROUND TWENTY-EIGHT IS OPEN

I vote for Merkel !

[big bad fab]

Merkel is eventually out, after having received one vote as soon as round 2 ! She was a big fighter, betrayed by myself !

ROUND TWENTY-NINE IS OPEN

I vote for Willy Brandt.

Granted, there was this great Ostpolitik.
BUT, in internal affairs, Germany didn't do very good with him, in terms of economics and public finances.
He wasn't able to find that Guillaume was a spy.

[big bad fab]

BUT, in internal affairs, Germany didn't do very good with him, in terms of economics and public finances.

Cite?

Schmidt, of course.

Big inflation throughout the period.
Failed experience of floating DM in 1971 (Schiller resigned in 1972).
Small recession in industrial output in late 1971, beginning 1972, less than 1% growth in 1973, almost 0 in 1974.
Of course, there was the monetary crisis and then the oil crisis.
But I think Brandt wasn't a great manager.

And don't forget we have only 5 chancellors left. I need to give some motives to eliminate Brandt now...

And I quite like Schmidt, a moderate guy, very pro-European. He did all that he could in a very tough time.
I know he is going to be ousted. But it will be without my vote, as in Bismarck and Kohl cases. And I don't want to see an unanimous vote against him. So sad

[big bad fab]

I'd like to change my vote to Philipp Scheidemann, mar plij.

OK, as I haven't fixed any rule on this

[big bad fab]

Helmut Schmidt is out, without any surprise.

ROUND THIRTY IS OPEN

I vote for Scheidemann.

Well, with 4 chancellors left, things are getting really hard.
My provocative vote against Brandt wasn't a success. I must try someone else !
And Marx, well, he was faced with so harsh a context...

[big bad fab]

Adenauer.

A weird one, that yin. An old-world 19th century catholic authoritarian whose old-world hatred of Prussian authoriarianism led him to dabble in high treason in the early 20s (Rhenanian Separatism, lol)... and who seized the chance of defeating Prussian authoritarianism that the division of Germany provided. And who therefore, despite all the lip service to "German Unity", set about perpetuating that division.
It was a great success. You have to grant him that. I'm glad it worked out that way. Though the work would of course have remained incomplete without the 68ers. (And though it set the CDU on its incredibly twisted course of condemning and all the same propping up the GDR regime, and collecting the votes of those who condemned it most unreasoningly. A course it still hasn't come off off, and that's not doing Germany any good.)
But that doesn't make the man at all likeable.

You're right in a sense: Brandt completed Adenauer's work, in foreign relations.

But, well, would there have been 68ers without, first, Adenauer ?...

In the East, Dubcek and Palach (take them as symbols of course) weren't able to "complete" the work, who wasn't even begun.

[big bad fab]

Sorry for the delay...
The Man of the Republic is out.

ROUND THIRTY-ONE IS OPEN

I vote for Wilhelm Marx, who can be seen as the surprise of our top 3.

[big bad fab]

But, well, would there have been 68ers without, first, Adenauer ?...

Ah, who knows. It is quite likely the partition would have happened even without a leading West German politician who actively wanted it (without saying so out loud - that's the part that I'm holding against him). But perhaps not. It's impossible to say with any certainty.
A bloc-free (more or less) united Germany would have likely developped somewhat along the ways of Austria or Finland, one would reckon. Both of which had their major economic development jump, and their major social liberal paradigm shifts, somewhat later than the countries of (North)western Europe. The question is whether such a large and still potentially powerful country as Germany would have been allowed to develop that way.

Obviously, I had my reasons for not voting for Adenauer earlier, but it's time now.

Adenauer again.

Finland is one thing (economically dependent from Russia, abuting Russia, not a strategic situation), Austria is another (in case of conventional war, Wien would have been located far too much in the East to be effectively defended. Only some valleys betwen West Germany and Italy would have been taken by Western troops).

But they have one thing in common: they have been able to be neutral because of the US presence in Europe, especially at the heart of Europe: West Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy (mountainous Switzerland is a no-go zone).
And because of Norway, Denmark, Italy inside NATO and Sweden only formally neutral and shadow member of NATO.
Even with Yugoslavia, secret plans existed of possible NATO intervention (with government's approval) in case of Soviet invasion.

Finland and Austria were small countries and acted a bit as de facto "free-riders".

So, a neutral Germany was a dream, as Stalin would have never withdrawn from the eastern part. Only the western half bloc-free and neutral wouldn't have worked.

To go back to my point, it was to say:
a Brandt wouldn't have been possible in Czechoslovakia (in my example).
But, I add that he wouldn't have been possible in Finland, which produced rather a Kekkonen.

A clear Western stance, with US (and French) nuclear umbrella and a strong economy, paved the way for a society that was, afterwards, able to demand evolutions and transformations and to manage itself in a sense.

[big bad fab]

Marx is out, but with a small majority.

ROUND THIRTY-TWO IS OPEN

Our big final between Konrad Adenauer and Willy Brandt.

Not really a surprise, but it's quite logical.
I'm a bit sad, as this Survivor is almost over and as I know who is going to win...
But, at least, no weird winner !

Oh, wait, nothing is done before it's done... So, it's up to you for 48 hours !

We keep voting in order to ELIMINATE.

[big bad fab]

Some statistics up to now:

Biggest total of votes in the round when eliminated:
Hitler, Scheel: 9

Lowest total of votes in the round when eliminated:
Bismarck, Bethmann-Hollweg: 2

Biggest vote in a round though not being eliminated:
Bauer, Schröder, Schmidt: 4

Biggest total of votes up to elimination:
Schmidt 15
Erhard: 14
Schröder: 13
Merkel: 12

Biggest rate of valid votes:
Hertling: 100% (88,9% with invalid vote included)
(Hitler, Scheel: 90%)

Eliminated with less votes than in his "best" round:
Bauer 3 (vs 4 previously)

Eliminated with only a plurality of votes:
Krosigk: 4 out of 9
Papen: 3 out of 7
Bismarck: 2 out of 5
Bethmann-Hollweg: 2 out of 5
Brüning: 5 out of 11
Kiesinger: 3 out of 7

Eliminated without having received votes in previous rounds:
(Hitler), Goebbels, Krosigk, Papen, Brüning, Kiesinger, Fehrenbach

Biggest delay between first vote and ousting:
Merkel: 2->28
Scheel: 2->21

Biggest delay without any vote:
Adenauer: 1->30

Lowest number of votes up to final:
Brandt: 1
Papen, Bethmann-Hollweg, Kiesinger, Fehrenbach: 3

Biggest turnout: 11
(rounds 2-Goebbels, 16-Brüning, 22-Erhard, 27-Wirth)

Lowest turnout: 5
(rounds 7-Bismarck, 8-Bethmann-Hollweg, 9-Bülow, 12-Luther, 17-Bauer)

[big bad fab]

Willy Brandt

[big bad fab]

Already our biggest turnout !
Very fine !
And it's very competitive... suspenseful until the end, I like it !

Come & vote, go & make forumers vote !