2013 Elections in Germany

[minionofmidas]

No, their new, sectarianized old-left face scared protest voters.

Oh! So I've got a completly inverted perception about Kipping and the Ema.Li current!?!

No, I'm thinking Wagenknecht etc and the remnants of the old West German DKP and trot groups, with the unexpected addition of Lafontaine to their ideological ranks. Kipping, within the intra-party scheme of things, is center (and kinda new-left). Her cochair is very much old-left (and West German) - and while not biographically that kind of old-left he's their candidate.

[minionofmidas]

Hessian FDP Landtag backbencher quits FDP, joins AfD.

This is after barely attending the Landtag during the past six months, ever since it became apparent he wouldn't be renominated. Lol.

[minionofmidas]

The political caste has been occasionally chattering about the need to reduce the number of states since 1949. Nothing ever comes off it of course - the only reform proposals to engender public support are ones that increase the number of states, not decrease it.

[minionofmidas]

...if barely so. 51.1% pro Old States across the whole of Baden. (Note that the Status Quo was not actually a ballot option... though would have been the result if the victorious option did not also win at least three "Abstimmbezirke"). Very interesting to see that it was mostly ancestral Baden that was so very opposed to the idea. Never seen that map before.

[minionofmidas]

Do the local elections have the 5 % threshold too?

No, the threshold was skipped a few years by the State Constitutional Court. As County Councils have 51 members, and smaller town councils only 15-30 members (depending on town size), you however effectively need at least 2% on county level and 3-6% on town level to gain a seat. [It's actually even more complicated, as roughly one third of seats are FPTP on voting district level, and the remainder is proportionally distributed list seats, with overhanging mandates and all that other stuff].

Just like NRW then.

I didn't notice these elections coming up until I heard about them on the radio this morning.

[minionofmidas]

Are these lows or reversals of 2009 heights?

In 2003 the PDS got 0.5% of the vote in the Lower Saxony state elections.

[minionofmidas]

I have signed the petition of one of these groups that I will most certainly not actually vote for.

[minionofmidas]

How many signatures are needed in Germany to be on the ballot federally and in the states ?

200 (from the district) for a direct candidate, 2000 or in the small states 0.1% of the total electorate for every state list. At least you can sign as many petitions as you want to. Parties represented federally or at the state level (actually it's a little more complex: you need to have won five seats, as a result of the actual election result, federally or in at least one state at the last election) are excempt from the requirement to 'announce their attention' to stand and to submit signatures according to wikipedia, so I'm not sure why the Pirates are on your list. Most likely wikipedia is wrong. Also, parties 'representing a national minority' (however representing is defined here) don't need signatures.

And I just read I can't legally sign anybody else's petitions now - only one state list and one direct candidate per voter (but they don't need to be of the same party). Mind you, it's unlikely I would have gotten the chance.

[minionofmidas]

And that one doesn't actually run federally either.

But yes, there is (or recently was) one.

[minionofmidas]

I'm not sure why the Pirates are on your list. Most likely wikipedia is wrong.

Having researched the matter... it seems like they didn't have to declare intent but did anyways (possibly not knowing they didn't have to. FW and NPD didn't make this (entirely harmless) mistake.

[minionofmidas]

I'm not sure why the Pirates are on your list. Most likely wikipedia is wrong.

Having researched the matter... it seems like they didn't have to declare intent but did anyways (possibly not knowing they didn't have to. FW and NPD didn't make this (entirely harmless) mistake.

FW are on that list twice though, with 2 different names. Or are these other "Freie Wähler" parties ?

The one on the top is a different one*. The other is the real one, but I overlooked it.

*The FW expelled its entire (tiny) Brandenburg state party, and later its entire (tiny) Bremen state party, because they were dominated by nazis and quasi-nazis, and set up new ones. FWD is the expelled Brandenburg state party, gone nominally national (actually it is active only in Brandenburg, Berlin and Bremen.)

[minionofmidas]

An alternative explanation for the recent polls (maybe I'm too optimistic) could be that the German pollsters have learnt their lesson

Yeah, forget it.

[minionofmidas]

What's with the huge other?

[minionofmidas]

Parties contesting Hesse state elections, in ballot order:

    Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands – CDU –
    Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands – SPD –
    Freie Demokratische Partei – FDP –
    BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN – GRÜNE –
    DIE LINKE – DIE LINKE –
    FREIE WÄHLER e.V. – FREIE WÄHLER –
    Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands – NPD –
    DIE REPUBLIKANER – REP –
    Piratenpartei Deutschland – PIRATEN –
    Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität – BüSo –
    Aktive Demokratie direkt – ADd –
    Allianz Graue Panther – AGP –
    Alternative für Deutschland – AfD –
    Autofahrer- und Volksinteressenpartei – AVIP –
    Lärmfolter-Umwelt-Politik-ehrlich – LUPe –
    Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei – ÖDP –
    Partei für Arbeit, Rechtsstaat, Tierschutz, Elitenförderung und basisdemokratische Initiative – Die PARTEI –
    Partei für Soziale Gleichheit, Sektion der Vierten Internationale – PSG –

(The Landeswahlleiter press release states that these parties have handed in lists, and that the official decision on granting them ballot access is on the 26th. It also says or seems to say that all of them have fulfilled the formal requirements and that this is the order they will appear on the ballot, which would mean the missing decision is purely a formality.)

[minionofmidas]

The only options in this election are Black-Yellow and Black-Red, neither of which has the potential of being anything but disastrous for Germany and Europe anyways.

I hear there's a lot of talk within the CDU (activists, third rate politicos, that sort of thing) of preventing another Lower-Saxony-like stampede to the FDP, with the big argument that the CDU's weaker areas in the big states are going to be shut out of parliamentary representation entirely (their CDU branches, that is) otherwise. If true and effective, that could be disastrous to the FDP.

[minionofmidas]

Parties contesting Hesse state elections, in ballot order:

    Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands – CDU –
    Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands – SPD –
    Freie Demokratische Partei – FDP –
    BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN – GRÜNE –
    DIE LINKE – DIE LINKE –
    FREIE WÄHLER e.V. – FREIE WÄHLER –
    Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands – NPD –
    DIE REPUBLIKANER – REP –
    Piratenpartei Deutschland – PIRATEN –
    Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität – BüSo –
    Aktive Demokratie direkt – ADd –
    Allianz Graue Panther – AGP –
    Alternative für Deutschland – AfD –
    Autofahrer- und Volksinteressenpartei – AVIP –
    Lärmfolter-Umwelt-Politik-ehrlich – LUPe –
    Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei – ÖDP –
    Partei für Arbeit, Rechtsstaat, Tierschutz, Elitenförderung und basisdemokratische Initiative – Die PARTEI –
    Partei für Soziale Gleichheit, Sektion der Vierten Internationale – PSG –

(The Landeswahlleiter press release states that these parties have handed in lists, and that the official decision on granting them ballot access is on the 26th. It also says or seems to say that all of them have fulfilled the formal requirements and that this is the order they will appear on the ballot, which would mean the missing decision is purely a formality.)

Yep. Official now.

Meanwhile, running in Hesse for the Bundestag:

1    Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands    CDU 
2    Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands    SPD    
3    Freie Demokratische Partei    FDP     
4    BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN    GRÜNE    
5    DIE LINKE    DIE LINKE     
6    Piraten Partei Deutschland    PIRATEN    
7    Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschland    NPD
8    DIE REPUBLIKANER    REP    
9    Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität    BüSo
10    Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei Deutschlands    MLPD
11    Alternative für Deutschland    AfD
12    Bürgerbewegung pro Deutschland    pro Deutschland    
13    FREIE WÄHLER Hessen e.V.    FREIE WÄHLER
14    Partei für Arbeit, Rechtsstaat, Tierschutz, Elitenförderung und basisdemokratische Initiative    Die PARTEI    
15    Partei für Soziale Gleichheit, Sektion der Vierten Internationale    PSG    

 

[minionofmidas]

Parties contesting Hesse state elections, in ballot order:

(snip)

Yep. Official now.

Meanwhile, running in Hesse for the Bundestag:

(snip)

nationally:
    SPD, FDP, Left, Greens, Pirates, NPD, FW, AfD, MLPD everywhere.
   CDU except Bavaria
    pro Deutschland – Bürgerbewegung pro Deutschland in 13 states: all but Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen
    REP in 10 states: Berlin, Brandenburg, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Bayern, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, NRW, Thüringen, Baden-Württemberg
    ÖDP in 8 states: Berlin, Hamburg, NRW, Rheinland-Pfalz, Bayern, Thüringen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Baden-Württemberg
    BüSo in 6 states: Bayern, Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Hessen, NRW, Sachsen
    DIE PARTEI in 5 states: Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, NRW
    Tierschutzpartei in 5 states: Bayern, Bremen, Niedersachsen, Schleswig-Holstein, Baden-Württemberg
    PARTEI DER VERNUNFT (lol) in 4 states: Bayern, NRW, Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg)
    PSG – Partei für Soziale Gleichheit, Sektion der Vierten Internationale in 3 states: Berlin, Hessen, NRW
    BIG – Bündnis für Innovation & Gerechtigkeit in 3 states: Berlin, NRW, Baden-Württemberg
    Bündnis 21/RRP (who?) in 3 states: Bayern, Bremen, NRW
    Rentner Partei Deutschland in 3 states: Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Baden-Württemberg
    PBC – Partei Bibeltreuer Christen in 2 states: Niedersachsen und Baden-Württemberg. Used to be better organized.
    Volksabstimmung – Ab jetzt in 2 states: NRW und Baden-Württemberg   
In just one state
CSU (guess where)
    DIE VIOLETTEN (Bavaria)
    Familien-Partei Deutschlands (Saarland)
    BP – Bayernpartei (guess where)
    DIE FRAUEN – Feministische Partei Die Frauen (Bavaria)
    Die Rechte (NRW)
    Partei der Nichtwähler (lol, NRW)

[minionofmidas]

Half drunken? You mean, as in the most sober he's been in a decade?

[minionofmidas]

As different as the CDU can stomach.

[minionofmidas]

'nyways, the best posters of this campaign are the Greens' smaller, Black-and-White series.

[minionofmidas]

I certainly haven't seen a single AfD poster in Frankfurt or Bad Vilbel. Pirates don't seem to be fully up yet around here, either. I've seen this thing (in a different, top-to-bottom, format) though.

[minionofmidas]

RIP Lothar Bisky.

[minionofmidas]

and why is this one hosted mostly on far-right sites nowadays, I wonder...

[minionofmidas]

I love it.

[minionofmidas]

a stock photo

Or a politician's head, of course. For CDU and SPD, the local candidates usually have to go without any kind of identifying slogan at all. Just their name, their ugly mug, and a party logo (with perhaps some mini-slogan next to it that's on most of their posters.)