Merkel achieves victory

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Thinking of the SED Die Linke at 20% is a damn nightmare. A nightmare.

Thank God the French version of Die Linke, Melenchon's little party created when a threw a hissy fit is a pathetic joke party. We don't need that type of junk.

[/continuing France's attention whore]

Haha, we have worse than that! We have Besancenot, which is the actual far-left here.

He doesn't win any seats, he's irrelevant and he's mildly amusing at times.

Yup, but the far-left force is him here. Other ones at his "right" can just bet on an embedded tactics with the PS, Mélenchon has not a lot more than NPA today, one sit in EU, which is nothing in France.

[danny]

Excellent results in two different ways:
That Merkel won again and that there won't be any grand coalition(I never like those anywhere). I just hope the FDP don't get the foreign ministry.

[Franzl]

Excellent results in two different ways:
That Merkel won again and that there won't be any grand coalition(I never like those anywhere). I just hope the FDP don't get the foreign ministry.

It's very likely that they will.

[ag]

Excellent results in two different ways:
That Merkel won again and that there won't be any grand coalition(I never like those anywhere). I just hope the FDP don't get the foreign ministry.

I just hope they do. And, if possible, finance as well

[Хahar 🤔]

Commies do well when SPD is in government. They'll do badly in 2013.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Thinking of the SED Die Linke at 20% is a damn nightmare. A nightmare.

Thank God the French version of Die Linke, Melenchon's little party created when a threw a hissy fit is a pathetic joke party. We don't need that type of junk.

Don't worry, we will never have a linke government. SPD will always be the determinating force.

[Middle-aged Europe]

I just hope the FDP don't get the foreign ministry.

In that case you could just as well hope that coalition talks with the FDP will fail and that there will be a second Grand coalition after all. The likelihood of either scenario is about 1%.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

I just hope the FDP don't get the foreign ministry.

In that case you could just as well hope that coalition talks with the FDP will fail and that there will be a second Grand coalition after all. The likelihood of either scenario is about 1%.

It pretty much seems they will get it. But, is that important for them to get this ministry? What's the point for them here? Don't they care more about national issues?

[Middle-aged Europe]

I just hope the FDP don't get the foreign ministry.

In that case you could just as well hope that coalition talks with the FDP will fail and that there will be a second Grand coalition after all. The likelihood of either scenario is about 1%.

It pretty much seems they will get it. But, is that important for them to get this ministry? What's the point for them here? Don't they care more about national issues?

The smaller coalition party always gets the Foreign ministry. This has been the case since 1966, when the first Grand coalition was formed. Usually, the foreign minister is also appointed vice chancellor. The Foreign ministry is considered a very important position, maybe it is even the most important of the ministries.

Besides, Guido Westerwelle wants it. He got increasingly involved in foreign policy the last few years. And when he wants it, he gets it.

And considering how strong the FDP and how weak the CDU/CSU were in this election, the FDP will at least get four ministries. Maybe five, if they're tough negotiators. Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy. Probably also Justice. And one or two more in addition to that.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy.

Catastrophe. I don't know their views on foreign policy, but they are probably bearable. On economic issue, they should be totally excluded to be harmles.

[ag]

Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy.

Catastrophe. I don't know their views on foreign policy, but they are probably bearable. On economic issue, they should be totally excluded to be harmles.

I know, the French hate the Germans, but the intensity of your feeling here is somewhat surprising )) Why don't you want German economy to work? ))))

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy.

Catastrophe. I don't know their views on foreign policy, but they are probably bearable. On economic issue, they should be totally excluded to be harmles.

I know, the French hate the Germans, but the intensity of your feeling here is somewhat surprising )) Why don't you want German economy to work? ))))

AIRBUS IS FRENCH!!!

...

[/pure pointless and non personal hack]

[Tender Branson]

Excellent results in two different ways:
That Merkel won again and that there won't be any grand coalition(I never like those anywhere). I just hope the FDP don't get the foreign ministry.

So what would you prefer in Austria, if the election were held right now ?

Grand Coalition or ÖVP/FPÖ ?

[Tender Branson]

BTW, Steinmeier was elected as leader of the SPD Parliamentary Group today with 88% of SPD members, but he declined to continue serving as SPD Party Chairman.

Sigmar Gabriel, the current Environment Minister, is now most likely to become the new Party Chairman, after Franz Müntefering stepped down.

Andrea Nahles could become General Secretary of the SPD, after Hubertus Heil stepped down.

Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit is speculated to become Vice-Party Chairman, as is Hannelore Kraft, she's the current leader of the North-Rhine-Westfalia SPD. Olaf Scholz, the current Minister of Labour, could also become a Vice-Chairman.

[minionofmidas]

I just hope the FDP don't get the foreign ministry.

In that case you could just as well hope that coalition talks with the FDP will fail and that there will be a second Grand coalition after all. The likelihood of either scenario is about 1%.

It pretty much seems they will get it. But, is that important for them to get this ministry? What's the point for them here? Don't they care more about national issues?

The smaller coalition party always gets the Foreign ministry. This has been the case since 1966, when the first Grand coalition was formed. Usually, the foreign minister is also appointed vice chancellor. The Foreign ministry is considered a very important position, maybe it is even the most important of the ministries.

Besides, Guido Westerwelle wants it. He got increasingly involved in foreign policy the last few years. And when he wants it, he gets it.

And considering how strong the FDP and how weak the CDU/CSU were in this election, the FDP will at least get four ministries. Maybe five, if they're tough negotiators. Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy. Probably also Justice. And one or two more in addition to that.

Struck the incorrect bits.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy.

Catastrophe. I don't know their views on foreign policy, but they are probably bearable. On economic issue, they should be totally excluded to be harmles.

I know, the French hate the Germans, but the intensity of your feeling here is somewhat surprising )) Why don't you want German economy to work? ))))

What you say makes absolutely no sense.

[ag]

Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy.

Catastrophe. I don't know their views on foreign policy, but they are probably bearable. On economic issue, they should be totally excluded to be harmles.

I know, the French hate the Germans, but the intensity of your feeling here is somewhat surprising )) Why don't you want German economy to work? ))))

What you say makes absolutely no sense.

It was a joke ))))

Though, as in every joke, there is a little bit of smthg serious in it - unlike you, I AM very happy about the results.

[Tender Branson]

BERLIN (Reuters) - Guido Westerwelle, who is widely expected to become foreign minister in the next German government, admonished a reporter who asked him a question in English on Monday, saying: "We're in Germany here."

The head of the Free Democrats (FDP), who are poised to enter government in coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, was giving his first news conference since Sunday's election when a BBC reporter asked whether he might be willing to respond to a question in English.

"Would you please be so kind, this is a press conference in Germany," Westerwelle replied in German.

Undeterred, the reporter then asked Westerwelle if he could respond in German to a question in English, only to be rebuffed again.

"In Great Britain people are expected to speak English and it is the same in Germany, people are expected to speak German," Westerwelle answered.

Using a translator, the BBC reporter then proceeded to ask a question about how German foreign policy would change with Westerwelle as foreign minister.

Westerwelle dodged the question, before adding: "Just so it's clear, I'm happy to meet you for tea outside the press conference and then we can speak only English. But we're in Germany here."

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE58R37Y20090928

[Antonio the Sixth]

Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy.

Catastrophe. I don't know their views on foreign policy, but they are probably bearable. On economic issue, they should be totally excluded to be harmles.

I know, the French hate the Germans, but the intensity of your feeling here is somewhat surprising )) Why don't you want German economy to work? ))))

What you say makes absolutely no sense.

It was a joke ))))

Though, as in every joke, there is a little bit of smthg serious in it - unlike you, I AM very happy about the results.

Well, I'm not, and I'm sad for all the Germans, who will be governed by the most extremist "liberal" party...

[Franzl]

Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy.

Catastrophe. I don't know their views on foreign policy, but they are probably bearable. On economic issue, they should be totally excluded to be harmles.

I know, the French hate the Germans, but the intensity of your feeling here is somewhat surprising )) Why don't you want German economy to work? ))))

What you say makes absolutely no sense.

It was a joke ))))

Though, as in every joke, there is a little bit of smthg serious in it - unlike you, I AM very happy about the results.

Well, I'm not, and I'm sad for all the Germans, who will be governed by the most extremist "liberal" party...

No need for that, a lot of  us are quite happy about it!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Aside from Foreign affairs, they will get either Finance or Economy.

Catastrophe. I don't know their views on foreign policy, but they are probably bearable. On economic issue, they should be totally excluded to be harmles.

I know, the French hate the Germans, but the intensity of your feeling here is somewhat surprising )) Why don't you want German economy to work? ))))

What you say makes absolutely no sense.

It was a joke ))))

Though, as in every joke, there is a little bit of smthg serious in it - unlike you, I AM very happy about the results.

Well, I'm not, and I'm sad for all the Germans, who will be governed by the most extremist "liberal" party...

No need for that, a lot of  us are quite happy about it!

I noticed it.

[Хahar 🤔]

The FDP isn't that scary. I was hoping for this sort of result, actually.

[Hash]

The FDP isn't that scary. I was hoping for this sort of result, actually.

Yeah, it doesn't eat.

[Democratic Hawk]

The FDP isn't that scary. I was hoping for this sort of result, actually.

The FDP is right-leaning 'liberal' elitist, but I'm not expecting any radical turn to the Right or any emphatic embrace of the "cult of neoliberalism". The CDU has a significant employee/labor wing; indeed, it was the late, great Christian Democrat, Ludwig Erhard, who founded the social market economy, on which Germany became the economic powerhouse of Europe